ROMANISM 



AMERICA 



REV. KUFUS W. OLAKK, 

AUTHOR OF " HEAVEN AND ITS EMBLEMS," "LECTURES TO 
YOUNG MEN," " LIFE SCENES OF THE MESSIAH," ETC. 




BOSTON: 

J. E. TILTON AND COMPANY, 

161 "Washington Street. 

1859. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 
J. E. TILTON & CO., 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



STEREOTYPED AT THE 
309T0N STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. 



PREFACE. 



Rome is always the same. It makes its boast of its unchangeableness, 
and with great truth. Not that in itself it is consistent as to doctrine, 
beliefs, or church ceremonies, for it contains within itself the widest dif- 
ferences and contradictions. 

" No faith with heretics " is still its doctrine. The fires of persecu- 
tion into which it once cast the noblest men in Europe, are still consonant 
with the fierce bigotry it displays, and are restrained only by its impotency 
or its policy 5 the unchangeable church is the one whose Pope issued the 
medal approving the massacre of St. Bartholomew. What it is as to 
tyranny, and what are the results of its control either in letters, science, 
or social life, the present state of its own immediate territories declare, — 
improvements checked ; literature dead j industry paralyzed ; a nation 
of beggars and begg|r priests 5 a Pope kept on his throne only by foreign 
bayonets, and, of necessity, so grossly misgoverning, as to draw upon 
himself the remonstrances of the neighboring princes even of his own 
church. By its own claim, unchangeable, it admits no improvement -, it 
remains corrupt and poisonous, and ruins the land which yields implicitly 
to its rule. 

In issuing the present work, a present want is met. From the beginning 
of its foothold, as the following pages will show, Rome has steadily ad- 
vanced in the United States. Wily as ever, it in general adopts a more 
courteous policy than abroad j it appears meek and shorn of its hideous- 
ness ; but circumstances show that it only hides its aim. Occasionally a 
feeler is put forth, or an imprudent priest heedlessly reveals its purposes. 
Recent events in our own midst, where a single foreign priest has introduced 
anarchy into one of our public schools, and with characteristic impudence 
has endeavored to ride over the rights and laws of Americans, not only 
illustrates the spirit of Rome, but calls attention anew to this arch enemy 
of the Republic. 

To summon again the spirit of national freedom, and to remind Ameri- 
can citizens of the spirit and object of Roman tyranny and superstition 
these pages are now given to the public. 

Boston, March 22, 1859. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter page 

I. — ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM, 5 

II. — FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, 26 

III. — PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED, . 50 

IV. — ANTAGONISM BETWEEN POPERY AND 

CIVIL FREEDOM, . . « . . .76 

V. — THE ORDER OF JESUITS, .... 105 

VI. — THE PAGANISM OF POPERY, . . .131 

VII. — PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM, . 155 

VIIL — THE INQUISITION, 182 

IX. — THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, . 220 
X. — THE BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CON- 
TINUED, 248 

(4) 



KOMANISM IN AMEEICA. 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 
" Prove all things." — 1 Thess, v. 21. 

The subject of Romanism in America is 
one vitally connected with our national welfare, 
and the perpetuity of our civil and religious 
institutions. Whether we look at the inherent 
principles of the Romish system, or the designs 
of its advocates in regard to its extension in 
our country, or to its actual growth and pro- 
spective power among us, we find abundant 
reason for a thorough and candid discussion of 
the question. Nor are we conscious, in ap- 
proaching it, of being influenced by any narrow 
or sectarian views, or any feelings of hostility 
towards those who are the members and advo- 
cates of the Papal church. 

There are some in the community who sup- 
pose that every religious discussion must grow 
out of the spirit of bigotry and intolerance, 
1* (5) 



6 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

and must partake, in some measure at least, of 
contention and personal animosity. There are 
others who regard the differences in what they 
term the various branches of the Christian church 
as of minor importance, and as unworthy the 
attention of liberal minded and enlightened cit- 
izens. But we do not belong to the class who 
would be silenced and lulled into a feeling of 
security by such opinions. We believe that it is 
the duty as well as the right of every American to 
examine the claims of the Roman Catholic 
faith, to study its history, to watch with a care- 
ful eye its progress in our land, to inquire into 
its influence upon our Protestant churches, our 
free institutions, and the national and social 
blessings which Heaven has granted to us. 
Our fathers, in leaving us the rich legacies of a 
pure gospel and a free government, also imposed 
upon us the responsibility of fearlessly defend- 
ing this gospel and firmly maintaining this 
government. And if, through indifference or 
timidity, or a feeling of false security, we do 
not heed their admonitions, we are justly 
chargeable with being recreant to our highest 
duty, and the unworthy recipients of the no- 
blest institutions ever bequeathed to a gene- 
ration of men. 

Besides, the relations of our republic to the 
cause of Christianity and the progress of civil- 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 7 

ization throughout the world greatly enhance 
this responsibility. Under the smiles of divine 
Providence there has grown up upon this conti- 
nent, with a rapidity unparalleled in history, 
a Christian power, which, by its influence, com- 
merce, and missions, is blessing all the nations 
of the earth. The light of our Protestant faith 
has reached the most distant continents and the 
islands of the sea ; the stars of our national 
banner have become stars of hope to millions 
who have been wandering in the darkness of 
heathenism, and oppressed by the cruelties of 
despotism. What, then, shall be the moral 
character and future influence of this growing 
republic is a question second only in importance 
to that of our personal salvation. It is a ques- 
tion that presses upon every mind that has any 
adequate sense of its obligations and duties ; ; 
upon every heart that beats in sympathy with 
the spirit of liberty and a pure religious faith. 

"We would not exaggerate the evils or the 
strength of Romanism ; neither would we utter 
a word to excite unnecessary alarm with regard 
to the prevalence of the system in our land. 
But we contend that a system in the very heart 
of our republic, deadly hostile to our churches, 
public schools, and free institutions, that num- 
bers three millions of votaries, and is sustained 
by nearly sixteen hundred priests, thirty-two 



8 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA, 



bishops, seven archbishops, more than one hun- 
dred colleges and seminaries, and seventeen 
hundred churches, is a system that should not 
be passed by with a sneer, or treated with cold 
indifference. The recent aggressions of this 
power, the arrogant assumptions of its promi- 
nent writers, the astounding insolence of such 
publications as the Freeman's Journal, Shep- 
herd of the Valley, and Brownson's Review, in 
asserting that heretics, that is, American Protes- 
tants, should be punished by the sword if they 
cannot be forced into the Catholic church, 
should arouse the citizens of this nation, and 
prompt them to plant themselves at once in 
opposition to this power. "We would deprecate 
all violence and unnecessarily harsh and denun- 
ciatory language; but we would use all the 
moral means that God has placed in our hands 
to break down a system that at every point is 
antagonistic to our dearest privileges and 
blessings. 

In seeking, however, the destruction of Ro- 
manism, we would do all in our power to save 
the Romanist, not, indeed, as a Romanist, but 
as a man, as a sinner like ourselves, for whom 
Christ died. In seeking the annihilation of 
Popery, we would save the pope as one who 
specially needs the benefits of the atoning sac- 
rifice of Christ. We declare war, not against 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. \) 

men, but against principles that are subversive 
of our liberties and religion. We declare war, 
and, God helping us, we will prosecute it, against 
that system which in the Holy Scriptures is de- 
nominated "the man of sin and son of perdi- 
tion," "the mystery of iniquity," "the mother 
of harlots and abominations." And we would 
break it down that its victims themselves may 
be delivered from its grasp, and saved from its 
pernicious influences ; for a greater calamity 
could not befall the Roman Catholics than to 
have Romanism triumph in this nation. Such 
a conquest would be the destruction of the very 
privileges and advantages that they have come 
to our shores to enjoy. 

I have often wondered why the Romanist 
did not, in moments of reflection, ask himself 
these simple questions : " "Why have I left the 
home of my fathers and the scenes of my child- 
hood, and come to live in this Protestant land, 
and dwell among these heretics ? How does it 
happen that I have here better food and cloth- 
ing, higher wages, more constant employment, 
a more sure protection to my life and property, 
free education for my children, and far greater 
facilities for rising in the world, than I had in 
my Catholic home ? Whence this thrift, pros- 
perity, and general happiness that I see around 
me?" 



10 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

It seems to us as though the man who could 
see the sunlight at noonday could see the an- 
swer to these inquiries, could see the world-wide 
difference between Popery and Protestantism, 
as elements of civilization and social happiness, 
to say nothing of the religious and spiritual 
bearings of the two systems. Yet we are pre- 
sented with the strange spectacle of a large 
class of persons, who, after having experienced 
the miseries of the Papal system in their native 
country, are here, under the guidance of a cor- 
rupt and bigoted priesthood, laboring to break 
down the very government that affords them 
protection, destroy the sources of their daily 
comfort, sweep away the system of public 
education that seeks to elevate and enlighten 
them, and annihilate the Protestant faith, that 
has made America what it is — the asylum of 
the oppressed, and the hope of all nations. That 
this state of things does not prevail universally 
among the Papal community in our country 
we are glad to allow. Some avalanches have 
slid away from this great Alps of iniquity, 
which in itself remains as cold and unmoved 
as ever. Into some minds the light has broken, 
and revealed the error and corruption of the 
Romish apostasy. But over the mass of the 
people the cloud of ignorance and superstition 
is too dense to allow them to see what is so 
obvious to the enlightened observer. 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 11 

In treating the subject before us, I purpose 
to exhibit, in a form adapted to the popular 
mind, its leading characteristics, as they stand 
related to American institutions, rather than to 
enter into a critical and elaborate exposition of 
all the principles and doctrines of the Papal 
system. The literature in this latter department 
is so abundant, and the ablest Protestant minds 
have elucidated so thoroughly the elements and 
workings of Romanism, that it is unnecessary 
to enter again upon this field. 

"While surveying the movements and growth 
of the Papacy around us, we naturally inquire, 
in the first place, into the origin and history 
of this remarkable and mysterious power. A 
slight examination into the elements of Popery 
reveals the fact, that it has its source in the de- 
pravity of the human heart. It is virtually an 
embodiment of the evil principles and passions 
of the human soul. Selfishness, avarice, super- 
stition, and despotism are among its constit- 
uent elements ; and these, with others, are 
woven together with such skill, and form a 
combination of such prodigious strength, that 
Popery has been properly termed " Satan's 
masterpiece." It contains the principles of 
other false religions, of paganism and a de- 
generate Judaism, all fused into one gigantic 
system. As an instrument for gaining temporal 



12 ROMANISM IN AMERICA, 

power and holding in subjection the thoughts 
and purposes as well as the conduct of men, it 
has no parallel in the history of religions. As 
a force destructive to vital piety and the pure 
doctrines of Christianity, it has no rival. 

During the first three centuries, when the op- 
position to the church was from without, and 
the engines of paganism were arrayed against 
her, she yet advanced with wonderful rapidity. 
With her doctrines pure and her advocates fired 
with a heavenly zeal, the principles of the gos- 
pel spread throughout the Roman empire, and 
extended to regions which the sway of imperial 
Rome had not even reached. Churches arose 
in the capital of the empire ; in the provinces 
of Asia Minor and in Ethiopia; at Corinth, Phi- 
lippi, Thessalonia. The principles of the true 
faith were early introduced among the Gauls, 
Germans, Spaniards, and Britons. So rapid 
was the progress of the gospel, and so complete 
its triumphs, -in spite of the storms of persecu- 
tion that raged against it, that, in the year 325, 
during the reign of Constantine the Great, the 
system of Paganism was demolished, and on 
the ruins was established the Christian faith. 
But Satan, unwilling to be baffled in his wicked 
designs, sought to plant within the church itself 
the elements of destruction. Unable to check 
the tide of blessings that was flowing through 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 13 

the nations, he labored to poison the stream. 
And as the church gained in power and out- 
ward prosperity, she lost in spirituality, and in 
the graces of a sincere and ardent piety. 

The city of Rome, around which so many 
interesting and hallowed associations clustered, 
became the seat of authority. The bishop, by 
the strength which his position gave to him, 
and by being called upon to decide the disputes 
which arose in churches abroad, as well as at 
home, gradually gained supreme power. One 
nation after another submitted to his dictation. 
What he could not gain by persuasion he se- 
cured by the arts of diplomacy, or by the stern 
mandates of the sword. Over millions of con- 
sciences he held undisputed sway. All the 
avenues of influence centred at Rome, and 
thence emanated the laws that governed the 
civilized world. 

As early as during the first and second cen- 
turies we can trace the embryo developments 
of the Papal system. They appeared in many 
of the Christian churches, disturbing the faith 
and obstructing the spiritual growth of the 
members. St. Paul, in his letter to the Colos- 
sians, uses the following language : " Beware 
lest any man spoil you through philosophy and 
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after 
the rudiments of the world, and not after 
2 



14 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



Christ." And again : " Let no man judge you 
in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy 
day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath 
days. * * . * Let no man beguile you of your 
reward, in a voluntary humility and worshipping 
of angels." Here we find these primitive dis- 
ciples warned against the very errors which af- 
terwards gained such prodigious power, and 
contributed so largely to the secularization and 
corruption of the Christian church. The re- 
gard which was paid and continues to be paid 
to traditions ; the influence of a vain and de- 
ceitful philosophy ; the rules respecting meat, 
and fast and feast days ; the worship paid to 
angels and saints, of which the Romish 
churches and the Pantheon at Rome bear 
abundant testimony, — all show the importance 
of the apostolic injunctions addressed to the 
Christians at Colosse. 

In the second century we discover in some 
minds a tendency towards monastic austerities. 
The doctrine was advanced, that the virtues 
of continence and chastity were specially pleas- 
ing to God, and that the marriage relation, un- 
der the most favorable circumstances, received 
but little divine favor. In the extravagant and 
unscriptural views advanced upon this subject, 
we perceive the germ of that system of monas- 
ticism, which, with its inevitable perversions 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 15 

and corruptions, overspread in later years a 
large portion of the Christian church. 

At this period, also, the vital interests of re- 
ligion suffered from controversies which arose 
respecting minor observances, and the disposi- 
tion which was manifested by some religious 
teachers to lay more stress upon the " mint, 
anise, and cumin" of religion than upon the 
"weightier matters of the law." 

During this and the following century, sev- 
eral superstitious practices were introduced ; 
such as the use of holy water, and regulations 
respecting the number of times that the eucha- 
rist should be celebrated. Traces of the doc- 
trines of baptismal regeneration, and of pur- 
gatory, may be found in the works of some of 
the distinguished writers who belong to this 
period. 

Bat although these errors and aberrations be- 
gan thus early to appear, yet we should not 
forget that the great mass of the disciples of 
Christ, previous to the establishment of Con- 
stantine upon the imperial throne, were distin- 
guished for their integrity, faith, and devotion 
to the Redeemer's cause. Their constancy in 
the midst of difficulties and dissensions, their 
patience and humility under the most grievous 
wrongs, the stern resolution with which they 
resisted the proud philosophy and haughty tyr- 



16 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



anny of their times, their self-denial and toil 
in making known the glad tidings of salvation 
to the ignorant and destitute, and their assidu- 
ous care in preserving the sacred writings from 
the grasp of their heathen persecutors entitle 
them to our gratitude and admiration. Many 
of the religious teachers and theological writers 
of this period were men of eminent talents, 
extensive learning, and glowing eloquence. 
The age was one of the noblest Christian hero- 
ism — a heroism that even the remorseless cru- 
elties of Nero, Domitian, Maximinus, Decius, 
and Diocletian could not extinguish. The 
more bitter and terrible the persecutions were, 
the more Christians multiplied. At periods 
when the Roman tyrants supposed that they 
had effaced the very name of Christianity from 
the empire, the system rose with fresh strength 
and new splendors. But this glorious era was 
destined to suffer an eclipse, which continued 
through long and dreary ages. With the out- 
ward prosperity and authority of the church, in 
the fourth century, there rolled in a tide of evils 
that deluged the nations of Europe. The er- 
rors and superstitions to which we have re- 
ferred, which at first were but little rivulets, 
became swollen, and united in one mighty 
stream, that rushed through the valleys and 
over the plains, reaching almost the summits 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANrSM. 17 

of the mountains, and sweeping all before it. 
The fair heritage of God was changed into a 
wilderness — a wilderness not indeed without 
its prophets and saints scattered here and there, 
who, amid the general wreck, clung to the faith, 
and were ready to lift their warning voices 
against the prevailing wickedness; but yet a 
moral desert, over which darkness and desola- 
tion long reigned. The worst passions of the 
soul took the place of the noblest virtues. 
Pride, ambition, avarice, and infidelity sup- 
planted the fruits of the spirit of love, peace, 
gentleness, and truth. The pure doctrines of 
the gospel were corrupted by the rise of the 
Aria n and Pelagian heresies, the infusion of 
pagan philosophy, and debasing superstitions. 
Instead of the simple institutions established 
by our Savior, we find monasticism, image 
worship, a passion for relics, and various agen- 
cies for securing the absolute dominion of Pa- 
pat power. 

As early as in the fifth century, — a period 
adorned by those distinguished fathers, the elo- 
quent Chrysostom, the learned Jerome, and the 
able defender of the faith, Augustine, — we find 
the reverence of the people passing from Christ 
to the material cross to which he was nailed ; 
from the lives of holy men to the localities 
which they occupied ; from the precepts and 
2* 



18 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

instructions of the apostles to the garments 
which they wore. And in the following cen- 
turies, so rapid was the growth of superstition, 
that very soon it was deemed a higher virtue 
to possess a piece of wood supposed to be a 
part of the cross, than to obey the commands 
of a crucified Redeemer. It was deemed far 
more meritorious to make a pilgrimage to Je- 
rusalem, than to follow in the footsteps of 
prophets and Christians who had fallen martyrs 
to the truth within its walls. Among the mass 
of the people there were stronger desires to visit 
the places to which Christ resorted, and the 
mountains where he meditated and poured 
forth his fervent prayers, than to cultivate the 
true spirit of devotion ; stronger desires to view 
the spots where he was betrayed, tried, and 
crucified, than to sympathize with him in his 
sufferings, — to stand in his tomb than to be- 
lieve in the doctrine of the resurrection, and 
secure the hopes of a blessed immortality. 

The various historical events connected with 
the career of the papacy from the time of Con- 
stantine to the reformation under Luther, in 
1517, the limits which we have prescribed to 
ourselves will not allow us to notice. But we 
cannot forbear speaking of the corruptions which 
prevailed among the clergy and the popes dur- 
ing a large portion of this period. Accord- 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 19 

ing to the testimony of their own historians, 
the clergy and laity, during the six centuries 
that preceded the reformation, were addicted to 
every form of vice and iniquity. One writer, 
in speaking of the eleventh century, says, 
"Faith was not found upon the earth. Justice, 
equity, virtue, and the fear of God perished, 
and were succeeded by violence, fraud, luxury, 
and debauchery. All kinds of abomination and 
incest were committed without shame or pun- 
ishment." 

St. Bernard, who lived in the twelfth cen- 
tury, says, " The clergy are called pastors, but 
in reality are plunderers, who, unsatisfied with 
the fleece, thirst for the blood of the flock, and 
merit the appellation, not of shepherds, but of 
traitors, who do not feed, but devour the sheep. 
The Savior's reproach, scourges, nails, and 
cross, his ministers who serve Antichrist melt 
in the furnace of covetousness, and expend on 
the acquisition of filthy gain, differing from 
Judas only in the magnitude of the sum for 
which they sell their Master. * * * Sump- 
tuous food, overflowing cellars, drunken ban- 
quets, accompanied with the lyre and violin, 
are the means by which these ministers of the 
cross evince their self-denial and indifference to 
the world." 

Edgar, in his " Variations of Popery," quotes 



20 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

the authority of Petrarch, Mariana, iEgidius, 
Mirandula, and others, in regard to the gross 
impiety and corruptions of the fourteenth and 
fifteenth centuries. Petrarch does not hesitate 
to call Rome " Babylon, the great whore, the 
school of error, and the temple of heresy." 

Mariana declared that "every enormity had 
passed into a custom and law, and was com- 
mitted without fear. Shame and modesty were 
banished, while the most dreadful outrages, 
perfidy, and treason were better recompensed 
than the brightest virtue. The wickedness of 
the pontiff descended to the people." 

-^Egidius says, " Licentiousness reigned. All 
kinds of atrocity, like an impetuous torrent, 
inundated the church, and like a pestilence in- 
fected nearly all its members. Ignorance, am- 
bition, and libertinism triumphed, while the 
plains of Italy were drenched with blood and 
strewed with the dead." 

The descriptions given of the abominations 
and miseries in the sixteenth century are equal- 
ly revolting. We cannot gaze upon them 
without shuddering. Antonius, in his address 
to the fathers and senators assembled at Trent, 
depicted in dark yet truthful colors the condi- 
tion of the church at that period. He stated 
that " each succeeding day witnessed a deterio- 
ration in devotion, divine grace, Christian vir- 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS O^ ROMANISM. 21 

tue, and other spiritual attainments. No age 
had ever seen more tribunals, and less justice; 
more senators, and less care of the common- 
wealth ; more indigence, and less charity. The 
pastor was without vigilance, the people with- 
out obedience, the monk without devotion, and 
every Christian without religion. The wicked 
were exalted, and the good depressed. Virtue 
was despised, and vice in its stead reigned in 
the world." 

But we need not multiply the pictures which 
have been drawn of the sad degeneracy of 
those times. History is full of records of the 
impiety, lewdness, avarice, and infidelity that 
every where prevailed. And yet we find at 
this very period the ecclesiastics claiming the 
divine sanction for all their acts, and firmly 
maintaining the doctrine of the infallibility of 
the church. 

The title " his holiness " was applied to popes 
whose character was such that their presence 
would no sooner be tolerated in modern socie- 
ty than that of the most notorious profligate. 
Think of Sergius III., who received the epithet 
" scelestissimus" (most wicked ;) of Benedict IV., 
who made a brothel of the Papal court ; of 
Boniface VIL, whose cruelties and atrocities 
outraged every principle of right and humanity, 
as approached with awe and reverence, and 



22 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

receiving the title " his holiness " ! A more 
palpable perversion of language is not conceiv- 
able. It is as though we should speak of the 
immaculate purity of a prostitute, of the ten- 
der humanity of Nero and Domitian, or of the 
noble devotion and heavenly aspirations of Ju- 
das Iscariot. Many of the popes, we do not 
say all of them, but many, were in fact the 
successors of the persecuting, bloodthirsty Ro- 
man emperors, rather than of the holy apostles 
of the Lord Jesus. They were actuated by the 
same principles, and were ready to adopt the 
same measures, in order to accomplish their 
ambitious designs. Distinguished Roman Cath- 
olic writers admit the sad degeneracy of the 
popes during the tenth and eleventh centuries. 
Christina, the Popish Queen of Sweden, said, 
" that the ignorance and wickedness of the 
popes in that age were all put together — a 
striking proof of God's superintending the af- 
fairs of his church in this lower world ; other- 
wise his divine providence would never have 
suffered such wretches to enjoy such dignified 
titles." Another, in a controversy, admitted that 
fifty of the popes were unholy and immoral 
men. 

History also furnishes incontrovertible proofs 
that the corruptions of the Papal court travelled 
down through all orders of the ecclesiastics, 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 23 

through the charitable and religious institutions 
of the church, and through a large portion of 
the laity 

Now, although this gigantic system of in- 
iquity was smitten by the strong arms of a 
Wickliffe, a Huss, a Luther, and a Calvin, yet 
it was far from being demolished. Although 
the pillars of the great superstructure have been 
made to tremble, yet, in some countries at 
least, they retain their colossal strength. "We 
glory in the reformation of the sixteenth cen- 
tury. We thank God for what the noble re- 
formers, by their fervent piety, extensive learn- 
ing, and indomitable energy, were enabled to 
accomplish in Germany, Switzerland, France, 
England, and the northern countries. But we 
should remember that there are strenuous ef- 
forts yet to be made, and battles yet to be 
fought, before the power of the man of sin is 
effectually broken. 

There is too much truth in the following 
declaration of Macaulay : — 

" The Papacy remains, not in decay, not a 
mere antique, but full of life and youthful 
vigor. The Catholic church is still sending 
forth to the farthest ends of the world mission- 
aries as zealous as those who landed in Kent 
with Augustin, and still confronting hostile 
kings with the same spirit with which she con- 



24 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

fronted Attila. The number of her children is 
greater than in any former age. The members 
of her community are certainly not fewer than 
a hundred and fifty millions; and it will be dif- 
ficult to show that all the other Christian sects 
united amount to a hundred and twenty mil- 
lions. Nor do we see any sign that the term 
of her long dominion is approaching. She 
saw the commencement of all the governments, 
and of all the ecclesiastical establishments, that 
now exist in the world ; and we feel no assur- 
ance that she is not destined to see the end of 
them all. She was great and respected before the 
Saxon had set foot upon Britain — before the 
Frank had passed the Rhine — when Grecian 
eloquence still flourished at Antioch — when 
idols were still worshipped in the temple of 
Mecca. And she may still exist in undiminished 
vigor when some traveller from New Zealand 
shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, take his 
stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to 
sketch the ruins of St. Paul's.'' 

A power that has resisted so many shocks 
from the friends of truth, — that has withstood 
the combined influences of the word of God, 
the reason, and religious convictions of en- 
lightened millions, — that numbers in France 
thirty-four millions of subjects out of a popu- 
lation of thirty-six millions; in Great Britain 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF ROMANISM. 25 

two millions ; in Germany twenty millions, that 
is, one half of the population ; in the United 
States three millions, — that embraces nearly 
the whole of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, 
and South America, — such a power is not one 
to be trifled with, or to be disposed of with a 
sneer. It must be met in every part of Chris- 
tendom, among the islands of the sea, and on 
the most distant continents of the earth. It 
must be met in our own beloved America. We 
must become acquainted with its history, study 
its principles, and examine its relations to our 
free institutions. 

As republicans, as Christians, as the friends 
of civil and religious liberty, of a free press, 
free schools, and the right of the whole people 
to possess and read the word of God, we are 
bound to be thoroughly acquainted with this 
system. Our responsibilities in relation to this 
matter we cannot shake off. Our fathers were 
true to our interests and happiness ; let us be 
true to the generations who are to come after 
us, that they may receive unimpaired those 
great national institutions that are the source 
of our prosperity, usefulness, and power. 
3 



II. 

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 

" Let no man deceive you by any means ; for that day 
shall not come, except there come a falling- away 
first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of 
perdition ; who opposeth and exalteth himself above 
all that is callld god, or that is worshipped, so that 
he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God."— 2 Thess. ii. 
3,4. 

Having briefly considered the rise and prog- 
ress of the Romish apostasy, we proceed to 
examine some of its fundamental principles. 
A system which has acquired such power as 
this, which has survived so many changes in 
the political and religious world, which at this 
hour holds under its sway so many millions of 
the human family, must have some constituent 
elements which impart to it its prodigious 
strength. Nor have we any difficulty in de- 
ciding what these elements are. The canons 
of councils, the decrees of popes, the writings 
of standard Catholic authors, and the practices 
of the church afford us the most abundant ma- 
terials upon this subject. And the first glance 

(26) 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 27 

at the distinctive features of Romanism reveals 
the marked contrast which this system presents 
to the purity and simplicity of the Christian 
faith. Instead of one spiritual head, to whom 
alone worship is rendered, — instead of a few 
simple rites, a single ecclesiastical order, free- 
dom of conscience, and gospel principles ap- 
plicable to all classes of men, and inculcating 
reverence, humility, and love, — we find the 
Romish system made up of a pope, cardinals, 
bishops, orders of monks, friars, and nuns, doc- 
trines of infallibility, celibacy, and purgatory, 
indulgences, worship of the saints and images, 
mitres, crosiers, holy water, and a variety of 
superstitions and practices adapted to the char- 
acter and circumstances of its victims. The 
Christian confesses his sins to God, the Ro- 
manist to his priest. The former makes the 
Bible his only rule of faith and practice ; the 
latter depends upon the decrees of councils and 
the traditions of the fathers. The former is 
actuated in the discharge of his religious du- 
ties by love, the latter by fear. The Protestant 
or Christian clergy throw open every doctrine 
to the free discussion and research of the peo- 
ple. The Catholic clergy demand only faith, 
leaving no room for the exercise of reason. 
The former exhort ; the latter command. The 
former seek to educate and enlighten the peo- 



28 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



pie, that they may appreciate and love God's 
truth; the latter keep the people in ignorance, 
that they may believe and cling to the dogmas 
of the church. The former would bring the 
whole world into the liberty of the gospel ; the 
latter \^ould bring the whole world under the 
dominion of the pope. The two systems 
therefore, in many of their elements, are di- 
rectly opposed to each other. They cannot 
harmonize ; 'they cannot compromise. As well 
attempt to mingle truth and error, light and 
darkness, the spirit of Jesus and the spirit of 
Satan. The principles and essence of Popery, 
as it now exists^ are embraced in the canons of 
the famous Council of Trent, the last of the 
nineteen general councils held by the Romish 
church. Trent is a city in the north of Italy, 
delightfully situated on the banks of the Adige, 
and commanding a view of the beauties and 
grandeurs of the Alps. Here, in December, 
1545, the council commenced its sessions, and, 
after protracted discussions, the doctrines of the 
church were decided upon. Subsequently, Pope 
Pius IV. drew up, with the sanction of the 
council, a summary of its decrees, which con- 
stitutes the basis of the Romish faith, and 
which every pope, cardinal, bishop, and priest 
is bound to subscribe. 

Did our limits allow, we should be glad to 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 29 

give a history of this council, and show what 
unfair means were used to prevent free discus- 
sion, secure the supremacy of the pope's influ- 
ence in its deliberations, and crowd down those 
who were anxious that abuses might be re- 
formed and the truth triumph. It should, how- 
ever, be distinctly understood, that, notwith- 
standing the efforts of the advocates of Popish 
intolerance and tyranny, the votes of the coun- 
cil were far from being unanimous. On many 
points every inch was strenuously contested, 
and some doctrines were carried through only 
by the force of Papal authority and chicanery. 
Doctors were arrayed against doctors, argument 
against argument, — showing that the idea of 
the unity of the church was a mere phantom. 

The creed of Pope Pius IV., which imbodies 
the results of this council, is a mixture of truth 
and error, of wisdom and folly, that is calcu- 
lated to deceive the unwary and superstitious. 
There is first presented the Nicene creed, con- 
sisting of twelve orthodox articles prepared by 
the bishops, who, in the year 325, met in the 
Council of Nice. This document is one of the 
most interesting and valuable productions of 
the primitive church. " Never," says an able 
writer, " did Constantine, the first Christian 
emperor, appear so truly great as when he took 
part in the council of Christian ministers he 
3* 



30 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



had summoned from every province over which 
his sceptre extended. Including bishops and 
presbyters, not less, perhaps, than six hundred 
met at Nice. They were in many cases poor ; 
and some, like veteran soldiers, could exhibit 
the marks of the wounds they had received 
when fighting the battles of the cross in the 
days of paganism." To the sentiments of this 
creed we can cordially subscribe. But then 
follow the articles that contain, in a condensed 
form, the very essence of Popery — articles 
which constitute the basis of the literature and 
devotional books of the Papal church, and are 
now yielding their poisonous fruits in every 
community over which the Papacy has extended 
its power. 

The first of these propositions, which is the 
thirteenth article of the whole creed, is as fol- 
lows : " I most steadfastly admit and embrace 
the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions, and 
all other observances and constitutions of the 
same church." In this article we have the 
corner stone of the whole Papal superstition. 
Upon it may be built every form of error which 
the wickedness, pride, or ambition of man may 
devise. While the Protestant takes the Bible 
as his only rule of faith and practice, the Ro- 
manist rests upon traditions. It is true that 
there is a feeble acknowledgment of the Scrip- 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 



31 



tures, but it is a mere formality; as the man- 
ner in which the Bible has been uniformly 
treated by Catholics abundantly proves. The 
acknowledgment is made in the next article of 
the creed, in these words : "I do admit the 
Holy Scriptures in the same sense that holy 
mother church does, to whom it belongs to 
judge of their true sense and interpretation; 
nor will I interpret them otherwise than ac- 
cording to the unanimous consent of the fa- 
thers." You will observe that the Scriptures are 
simply admitted, while traditions are mostly 
steadfastly admitted and embraced. The former 
are barely recognized, evidently under the fear 
that their entire omission would be noticed, and 
subject the church to censure, while the latter 
are most cordially welcomed. Besides, the 
Scriptures are admitted with such glaring and 
positive qualifications as to deprive them of 
their life-giving power. 

Instead of the reader's exercising his own 
reason and judgment in interpreting the lan- 
guage of the sacred volume, — instead of search- 
ing the Scriptures for himself, as a free, intelli- 
gent moral agent, accountable to his God 
alone, — he binds himself by an oath, or vow, 
to adopt the meaning given by the mother 
church. Whatever grounds or arguments may 
exist for differing from her teachings, to what- 



32 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



ever extent she may pervert the language of 
inspiration to suit the designs of profligate 
popes or wicked priests, the Romanist is bound 
to admit the whole. He virtually yields up his 
reason and conscience to others, without re- 
serving to himself the privilege of inquiring 
into the foundation of the doctrines which he 
is taught to believe. Nor is this all. In the 
latter clause of the article he binds himself 
to interpret the Scriptures only according to 
the unanimous consent of the fathers. But 
what is to be done if the fathers themselves 
are not unanimous in their interpretations ? 
What is to be done when councils are arrayed 
against councils, and popes against popes, in 
their decrees respecting the teachings of the 
Bible ? The idea of the unanimity of the 
fathers or of the ecclesiastics of the church is 
the merest chimera that can be imagined. Even 
the members of single councils were not agreed 
among themselves. " The requisition of una- 
nimity would in fact," says Edgar, " explode 
the majority of all the eighteen general coun- 
cils. A few, indeed, have been unanimous, but 
many divided. The Nicene, Byzantine, Ephe- 
sian, and Chalcedonian synods contained fac- 
tions that favored Arianism, Macedonianism, 
Nestorianism, Eutychianism, and Monothelit- 
ism. * * * No assembly, civil or ecclesias- 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 33 

tical, ever showed less unity than the Council of 
Trent. Theologian opposed theologian, and 
bishop withstood bishop, in persevering imper- 
tinence and contention. The Dominican fought 
with the Franciscan in a provoking war of 
rancor and nonsense. The French and Spanish 
encountered the Italians, with inferior numbers, 
indeed, but with far superior reason and elo- 
quence. The bishops, learned in general in the 
law, but unskilled in divinity, were utterly con- 
founded by the distinctions, scholasticism, and 
puzzling diversity of opinion which prevailed 
among the theologians. The discord of the 
Trentine fathers became, in the French nation, 
the subject of witticism and mockery. 

" The contentions of the French synod of 
Melun, preparatory to that of Trent, afforded a 
striking prelude and specimen of the noisy and 
numerous altercations which were afterwards 
displayed in the latter assembly. The French 
king convened the Parisian doctors at Melun, 
for the purpose of arranging the dogmas of 
faith, which, on the assembling of the general 
council, were to be proposed for discussion. 
The Parisians, however, could agree on nothing. 
The time was spent in wrangling about things 
essential and non-essential, and the king was 
obliged to dissolve the council without their 
having arrived at any satisfactory conclusion. 



34 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

A scene of equal dissension is not to be found 
in all the annals of Protestantism." 

To rest therefore one's faith upon the una- 
nimity of the fathers in their interpretation of' 
of the Scriptures is to rest upon that which has 
no existence. The claim of unanimity and in- 
fallibility is the greatest absurdity imaginable. 

We pass on to notice the next article of the 
Roman Catholic creed. This refers to the be- 
lief in seven sacraments ; namely, baptism, 
confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme 
unction, orders, and marriage. Where the 
Council of Trent obtained their authority for 
these seven sacraments, we are not informed. 
Two of them, the eucharist, or the Lord's 
supper, and baptism, are obviously derived 
from the Holy Scriptures. The Savior dis- 
tinctly required of the disciples to partake of 
bread and wine as the emblems of his body 
and blood ; and he commanded them to teach 
all nations, " baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost." But what passages can be cited to 
prove that Christ instituted, as sacraments, con- 
firmation, penance, extreme unction, orders, 
and marriage ? It is true that he required be- 
lievers in him to make a public profession of 
their faith ; he called sinners to repentance ; he 
established the gospel ministry, and breathed 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 35 

upon the apostles the Holy Ghost; he was 
present at a marriage feast, and thus sanctioned 
the institution of marriage. But what evi- 
dence is there that he established these as sac- 
raments ? We do not wonder that Romanists 
are required to understand the Scriptures as 
the holy mother church sees fit to interpret 
them, if such doctrines are to be promulgated. 
It is a very convenient way of getting over the 
want of evidence for any particular dogma, 
just to force upon the people an interpretation 
which suits the purposes of crafty bishops and 
priests. If the people are not allowed to in- 
vestigate, nor even to understand, the Scrip- 
tures for themselves, — if they are at the outset 
required to throw aside, as utterly useless, their 
own reason, and the mental powers which the 
Almighty has given to them, — then they may 
be led to adopt the most palpable and gross 
errors, which the ambition or wickedness of 
their leaders may devise. 

Under a deep conviction of the want of scrip- 
tural proof for these and other Popish dogmas, 
a distinguished advocate of the reformed 
church threw out to his antagonists this chal- 
lenge : " I defy you to find Romanism in the 
Bible. I defy you to uphold it by the author- 
ity of the earliest interpreters of the Bible. 
I defy you to establish it by the consent of 



36 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

those who in primitive times bore witness to 
the truth." Such was the confidence of this 
earnest and learned divine in the strength of 
his own position, and the fallacy of the Romish 
doctrines, that he was willing to stake his cause 
upon this challenge. He saw clearly that the 
Popish superstition rested upon ignorance of 
the Bible and of the teachings of the early 
fathers, and that, with the premises laid down 
in this creed, the people could be easily led into 
every form of error and absurdity. 

The next article of belief refers to original 
sin and to justification. But the fathers of 
Trent were greatly divided as to the import of 
the phrase " original sin;" and justification, in 
their opinion, was a medley of faith, good 
works, priestly absolution, and virtue imparted 
to the soul by the power of the church. To 
such an extent had the doctrine of human 
merit supplanted the efficacy of Christ's aton- 
ing sacrifice for sin, that the reformers felt 
called upon to lay particular stress upon this 
point. It constituted the main battle ground 
which the immortal Luther occupied. To the 
doctrine of justification by faith alone he clung 
with the greatest tenacity. The errors which 
robbed Christ of his glory — which led sinful 
man to believe that he could by his own merits 
secure the favor of God — which encouraged 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 37 

the expectation that a finite, fallen creature 
could secure the release of a fellow-sinner 
from the penalties of his transgressions — such 
errors Luther resisted with all his power. 

It is true that this noble man has been charged 
with having indulged in a spirit of harshness 
and violence, unbecoming a true follower of the 
meek and lowly Jesus. But those who are so 
free to censure him, forget that the exigencies 
of the times, and the fearful corruptions of the 
church, demanded the greatest earnestness and 
zeal in those who would break down the ex- 
isting superstitions, and sweep away the pre- 
vailing errors. We believe that Luther was 
naturally of a mild and loving disposition. 
Though by no means a perfect man, he was 
yet free from a sordid ambition, from selfish- 
ness, bigotry, and vindictiveness. He loved 
God's truth with an intensity which no waters 
or floods could extinguish. He mourned over 
the corruption of the times with a bitterness 
and sorrow that came from the depths of his 
soul. " At times," says one, " the word of God 
is as fire shut up in his bones. He is indignant 
at oppression and wrong. He longs to strike 
the hoary lust from its throne. His words, 
rough, vehement, jagged, tumultuous, are 'half 
battles.' They go burning and crashing amid 
the idols of superstition. He must be honest, 
4 



38 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

he must.be true ; and sometimes he must be ve- 
hement — fearfully vehement. And as he is 
only a man, sometimes he may be imprudent, 
and both say and do things which subsequently 
he regrets. But in the main he is honest — 
terribly, gloriously honest. Let him, then, 
speak out ; let him lay stunning blows on the 
head of despotic error and fiendish lust. Let 
him trample in the dust the mean arguments 
and meaner wiles of his opponents. Are they 
not the enemies of God and man? and has 
not the Almighty made him the battle axe to 
grind them to powder ? Men stood aghast 
when Luther burned the pope's bull ; but to us 
it is a magnificent sight. With what lofty 
disdain he tears it to atoms, and commits it to 
the flames, as a weak and worthless thing, 
which it behooves all honest men to despise! 
4 Too much imprudence,' replied Luther to 
Spalatin, who had counselled him to sobriety, 
c is displeasing to man, but too much prudence 
is displeasing to God.'" 

Such was the heroic reformer who thundered 
in the ears of priests, bishops, cardinals, and 
the pope the doctrine of "justification by faith." 
He had experienced in his own history the utter 
inefficacy of the requisitions and mummeries 
of the Romish church to satisfy the soul and 
afford a well-grounded hope for the future. He 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OP POPERY. 39 

had felt the blessedness of that faith which 
" worketh by love ; " and his aim was to estab- 
lish the authority of this great principle, and 
sweep away the whole system of penances and 
human merit, whereby the pride of the heart 
was fostered and souls were deluded. 

The next article in the creed to which the 
Roman Catholic subscribes contains the doc- 
trine of transubstantiation, and is in the fol- 
lowing words : " I also profess that in the mass 
there is offered unto God a true, proper, and 
propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the 
dead ; and that, in the most holy sacrament of 
the eucharist, there is truly, really, and substan- 
tially the body and blood, together with the 
soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and that there is a conversion made of the 
whole substance of the bread into the body, 
and of the whole substance of the wine into 
the blood, which conversion the Catholic church 
calls transubstantiation." 

This monstrous proposition, which sounds so 
strangely to Protestant ears, and which is so 
contrary to the Holy Scriptures and to human 
reason, is one of the cardinal points of the Pa- 
pal system. By the celebration of the mass 
every Sabbath in the Catholic churches, it is 
constantly kept before the people, and their cor- 
dial and unqualified faith in it is demanded as 



40 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

the condition of church membership and of 
salvation. 

When the priest holds up the wafer, or bread, 
consisting of flour and water, and pronounces 
the words, " Hoc est enim meum corpus" (for 
this is my body,) it is maintained that every 
particle of the bread is substantially and really 
changed into the flesh and blood, spirit and di- 
vinity, of Jesus Christ. It is adored by the priest, 
and the people kneel and worship it as the real 
Son of God. The priest then takes that which 
we know is nothing but flour and water, and 
offers it up to God as a propitiatory sacrifice for 
the living and the dead, teaching that it has 
the same efficacy to cleanse from all sin, as the 
atoning sacrifice which Christ made of his own 
body on the cross. Thus, throughout the seven- 
teen hundred Catholic churches in these United 
States, there is, according to the teachings of 
the Romish church, an atoning sacrifice . every 
Sabbath made for the sins of the people. In 
this enlightened Christian land, a wafer, or a bit 
of bread, is by three millions of people wor- 
shipped as the Son of the most high God, and 
believed in as a propitiatory sacrifice for their 
sins. 

And so tenaciously does the church cling to 
the superstitious dogmas involved in this rite, 
that a fearful curse is pronounced upon those 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 41 

who do not subscribe to them. The language 
of the first canon of the Council of Trent on 
the eucharist is, " If any man shall deny that 
in the sacrament of the most holy eucharist 
there is contained truly, really, and substantially 
the body and blood, together with the soul and 
divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so a 
whole Christ, but shall say that he is only in 
it in sign, or figure, or power, let him be ac- 
cursed." Again, in the Tridentine canons on 
the mass, we read, " If any man shall say that 
in the mass there is not offered to God a true 
and proper sacrifice, let him be accursed." The 
third canon is, " If any man shall say that the 
sacrifice of the mass is only a sacrifice of praise 
and thanksgiving, * * * and that it is not pro- 
pitiatory, * * * and that it ought not to be 
offered for the living and the dead, for their sins, 
&c, let him be accursed." And again : " If any 
man shall say that, by the sacrifice of the mass, 
blasphemy is offered to the most holy sacrifice 
of Christ accomplished on the cross, or that it 
is dishonored, let him be accursed." Such are 
the decrees of the Papal church upon this sub- 
ject ; and that, in its official documents, it deals 
vastly more in curses than in blessings, and is 
ready to heap the most terrible anathemas upon 
those who will not swallow all their dogmas 
and superstitions, we shall have abundant 



42 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



occasion to show. The fathers, so called, in- 
stead of manifesting the mild and persuasive 
spirit of their professed Master, seem, in their 
dealings with those who dissent from them, to 
be possessed with the passious of fiends. They 
rush upon them with a volley of curses, which 
threaten to annihilate every comfort that they 
possess in heaven or in earth. Let me give a 
single specimen, taken from Dr. Cumming's 
work on Romanism. 

u Should a father in this audience have a 
daughter in a nunnery, whom he should attempt 
to rescue from the superstitious and polluting 
influences of such an institution, the following 
curse would be pronounced against him : ' By 
the authority of the omnipotent God, and of 
St. Peter and St. Paul, his apostles, we firmly, 
and under threat of anathema, enjoin that no 
one carry off these virgins, &c. If any one 
shall have presumed to attempt this, may he be 
cursed in his house and out of his house ; may 
he be cursed in the state (or city) and in the 
field ; cursed in watching and cursed in sleep- 
ing; cursed in eating and drinking; cursed in 
walking and sitting : may his flesh and "his 
bones be cursed, and from the sole of his foot 
to the crown of his head may he enjoy no 
health. May there light upon him the curse 
which the Lord sent in the law by Moses on the 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 43 

sons of iniquity. May his name be erased 
from the book of the living, and not be recorded 
with the righteous. May his portion and his 
heritage be with Cain the fratricide, with Da- 
than and Abiram, with Ananias and Sapphi- 
ra, with Simon Magus, and with Judas the 
traitor, and with those who said to God, ' De- 
part from us ; we will not follow thy ways. ? 
May eternal fire devour him with the devil and 
his angels, unless he make restitution, and come 
to amendment. So be it.' " 

Such is the amiable, heaven-born, forgiving 
spirit of Popery ! — a spirit that is the same 
to-day that it was a hundred years ago — that 
is the same in Boston and at Rome — the 
same in America as in Spain and Austria. 
It is the boast of the Romish church that it 
does not change, and that its doctrines and 
decrees are infallible, and of course its curses 
are infallible. And the men who utter these 
imprecations, the fathers, (Heaven deliver us 
from such a parentage !) profess to be the fol- 
lowers of the meek and holy Jesus. Over the 
head of a parent seeking to rescue a beloved 
daughter from the dangers and pollutions of a 
nunnery, they cause to be heard the thunder 
crash of this terrible, blasting anathema. 

Not very long since, a young man, having by 
the study of the Bible become convinced that 



44 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Popery was not the religion there inculcated, 
renounced it, very much to the distress of his 
mother, who believed that no salvation could 
be found out of the pale of the Romish church. 
She accordingly requested two bishops to argue 
with him, which they did to no avail, until, 
weary of so fruitless a discussion, one of them, 
a man of commanding presence, slowly arose, 
and, lifting up his hand, said, impressively, " It 
must be done" and forthwith hurled upon him 
a terrible anathema. Amid the long string of 
imprecations, " the curse of a widowed mother " 
w T as invoked upon him, when the youth burst 
into tears, but made no reply until the whole 
was finished, when he said, " While you were 
speaking, I could not but think, is this the reli- 
gion of Christ ? While your mouth was filled 
with cursing, I prayed that I might be enabled 
to fulfil the injunction, ' Bless them that curse 
you, pray for them that despitefully use you 
and persecute you, that thus ye may be the 
children of your Father in heaven.' " 

This incident places in true contrast the spirit 
of Romanism with the spirit of Jesus. 

But let us return to the mass, for dissenting 
from which we Protestants are pronounced ac- 
cursed. It will be observed that there are two 
distinct points in this rite which should be con- 
sidered separately — the changing of the bread 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 45 



and wine into the body and blood of Christ, 
and the offering of a propitiatory sacrifice. As 
the authority for the first, the Papists rely upon 
the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, partic- 
ularly the 53d and 54th verses. " Then Jesus 
said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and 
drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso 
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath 
eternal life." This language, the Popish fathers 
contend, must be taken literally ; and upon it 
they found the doctrine of transubstantiation. 
But in their definition of transubstantiation, 
which includes the soul and divinity of Christ, 
they are the first to violate the literal import 
of Christ's words, for these refer simply to the 
body, the flesh and blood. 

There is obviously no authority here for in- 
cluding the spiritual nature of the Savior. Be- 
sides, the bread to which Christ refers in this 
chapter is the bread which came down from 
heaven. And he says, " Not as your fathers did 
eat manna, and are dead ; he that eateth of this 
bread shall live forever." But did Christ's body, 
his flesh and blood, come down from heaven? 
What is to be done with the doctrine of the 
incarnation, and with the Virgin Mary, in this 
connection ? 

There are still other points that perplex a 



46 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Protestant, common-sense mind. You observe 
that Christ says that " except ye eat the flesh 
of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have 
no life in you." But the wine which represents 
the blood is withheld from the laity, and drank 
only by the priest. In this way the people get 
only half a sacrament. How is this difficulty 
disposed of ? O, very easily ; the Catholic 
will tell us. The Council of Trent have attached 
to the article on transubstantiation the soothing 
and accommodating declaration, " I also confess 
that under either kind alone (the bread or wine) 
Christ is received whole and entire, and there 
is a true sacrament." A very convenient and 
satisfactory solution for ignorance and bigotry 
to receive, but not for those who are accustomed 
to give a reason for the faith that is in them ! 
Nor is it likely that we should be driven from 
the field of debate by that short and compre- 
hensive argument employed by our opponents, 
" Let him be accursed." Such a sort of finality 
may be agreeable to. others, but it does not ex- 
actly suit American ideas of free discussion and 
independent belief. 

But how does it happen that the learned 
fathers should have overlooked the 63d verse 
of this chapter, in which Christ distinctly ex- 
plains the import of his own words ? > He says, 
"It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh irof- 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 47 

iteth nothing; the words that I speak, they 
are spirit and they are life." Can any thing be 
plainer? Is it not obvious that Christ uses the 
bread and wine, simply, as signs or symbols of 
his body and blood, and that spiritual nourish- 
ment is to be derived from spiritual communion 
with him, from his words, his teachings, and 
his holy doctrines ? Is it not clear that the 
strong language which he uses is purely figura- 
tive, and is in accordance with the Oriental style 
of speaking, when the aim is to render the idea 
or command emphatic and impressive ? 

And what shall we say of the influence of 
such a dogma as tran substantiation upon the 
mind and conscience of the victim who is 
forced to embrace it? How disastrous must 
be the effects of such a draft upon the credulity 
of the human intellect! We do not wonder that 
the road is so short from such a superstition to 
infidelity. We do not wonder that whole nations, 
where the triumphs of Romanism have been the 
most complete, have swung from such absurdities 
into the grossest atheism. We do not wonder 
that Luther, on his first visit to Rome, found 
even the highest ecclesiastics infidels at heart, 
and ready to ridicule the vital principles of their 
faith. 

But supposing that the principle of literal 
inte" retation be applied to the words of Christ 



48 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

when he says of the bread, " This is my body," 
then it is fair and right that it be applied to other 
passages of a similar character. For example, 
Christ says, " This cup is the Neiv Testament in 
my blood." Taken literally, the cup is really 
transformed into a New Testament. Christ also 
says, " I am the door," " I am the vine," " I am 
the way," that is, at one time he is a door, at 
another a true and real vine, and at another a 
way. So in other passages the same form of 
expression occurs. " The seven ears of corn 
are seven years ; " " the seven candlesticks are 
seven churches," &c. We see at once into 
what absurdities we are led by the application 
of this principle of interpretation to such pas- 
sages. Other arguments might be adduced 
from the Scriptures, which show that there is 
not the shadow of a foundation for the dogma of 
transubstantiation. Indeed, there are passages 
which directly oppose it. Christ himself, after 
he had consecrated the elements, speaks of the 
wine as the fruit of the vine in the words, u I 
will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, 
until that day when I drink it new with you, 
in my Father's kingdom." Christ, also, in 
instituting the supper, said to the disciples, 
" Do this in remembrance of me." Now, we 
remember that which is past or absent, and not 
what is present ; and all Christ's instructions 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 49 

show that the idea of his bodily presence in the 
bread and wine was utterly foreign from his 
mind. 

The other feature of the mass, which consists 
of offering the wafer to God as a propitiatory 
sacrifice for sin, our limits will not allow us to 
dwell upon; neither is it necessary. For the 
reader of the Bible knows that a full and suffi- 
cient atonement has been made by Christ on 
Calvary, and all the mummeries of designing 
men can neither add to nor detract from that 
great atonement. We are distinctly informed 
that " without the shedding of blood there is 
no remission ; " that " Christ was once offered to 
bear the sins of many;" also, "we are sancti- 
fied through the offering 6f the body of Jesus 
Christ once for all" Thus we might go through 
the New Testament, and on every page find ar- 
guments against this absurdity. The whole 
Bible is against it. Reason is against it. The 
common sense of this nineteenth century is 
against it. 

The light upon the subject of the atonement 
comes to us clear, direct, and full of splendor 
from the eternal throne. A free and complete 
salvation is offered to all who will exercise re- 
pentance and faith. 
d 5 



III. 

PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 

" Then shall that wicked be revealed, even him whose 
coming is after the working of satan, with all pow- 
ER, AND SIGNS, AND LYING WONDERS." — 2 Thess. ii. 8, 9. 

In our last lecture we examined several arti- 
cles of the Roman Catholic creed, and showed 
their inconsistency with the dictates of reason 
and the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. We 
proceed to notice other doctrines of this creed; 
and we invite to the discussion of these articles 
your earnest attention, because they constitute 
the basis, or rather, I would say, the very es- 
sence and substance of the Papal church. When 
we examine any system of science, government, 
or religion, through its acknowledged and estab- 
lished principles, through the doctrines which its 
advocates, after diligent study and protracted 
debate, have fixed upon and published to the 
world, we cannot be charged with unfairness, 
or with bringing false accusations against the 
system. If the principles or doctrines are 
founded in truth, if their influence is beneficial 

(50) 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 51 

upon society, then the discussion of them will 
add to their stability and power. If, on the 
other hand, they are false and pernicious in 
their influence, then they ought to be exposed, 
and their power for evil destroyed. And the 
rights that we claim for ourselves we readily 
concede to our opponents. We would have 
the advocates of Romanism discuss, fairly 
and openly, the creed and principles of the 
Protestant faith. We would have them ex- 
amine these principles in the light of reason 
and of the Scriptures; study their influence 
upon society, upon morality, education, in- 
dustry, commerce, the arts, social happiness, 
and national prosperity. We have nothing 
that we would hide from the gaze of the world. 
We have no secret ecclesiastical assemblies, no 
inquisitorial halls, no convents barred with iron 
against the intrusion of the world, We invite 
discussion and investigation. We have conse- 
crated this American soil to freedom — to free- 
dom in religion, in politics, in thought, and 
opinion. If the Chinese who are landing upon 
our western shores, and are building their 
pagodas in California, choose to discuss the 
merits of heathenism, and can show that Con- 
fucius was superior to Christ, and their system 
of religion is superior to Christianity, why, let 
them do so. 



52 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

In our debate, however, with the Romanist, 
we are a little fastidious as to the kind of 
weapons to be employed. We prefer reason to 
denunciation — sound logic to. a sophistry suited 
only to the ignorant and bigoted — convincing 
arguments to the terrible anathemas in which 
his church so freely deals, and the spirit of the 
gospel, to those fearful curses that blast and 
scath the very language that imbodies them. 

But to proceed with our work. The next 
article of the Romish creed is as follows : " I 
firmly believe that there is a purgatory, and 
that the souls imprisoned there are helped 
by the suffrages of the faithful." This doc- 
trine was discussed by the Council of Trent, 
towards the close of its sessions, and the re- 
sult was imbodiecl in this decree. The bishops 
were instructed to see to it that this " whole- 
some doctrine of purgatory, delivered by ven- 
erable fathers and holy councils, should be be- 
lieved and held by Christ's faithful, and every 
where taught and preached." It was also 
gravely declared, that the prayers of the faith- 
ful, and the sacrifices of the mass, were of great 
service to those who were detained in purgatory. 

According to the Roman Catholic belief, 
there is in the future world, besides a heaven 
and a hell, a middle state, or place, where de- 
parted souls make expiation for venial sins, 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 



53 



and are purified, preparatory to entering upon 
the joys of heaven. Those who die guilty of 
what are termed mortal sins are doomed to 
eternal punishment, while those who die guilt- 
less of either kind of sin are immediately ad- 
mitted to the glories of heaven. 

While the Popish fathers are agreed as to 
the existence of a place called purgatory, they 
make sad work with fixing its locality, and de- 
fining the nature and degree of its punish- 
ments. Some divest it of all material locality, 
and say that it is a spiritual residence for de- 
parted souls ; others declare that it is in the 
bowels of the earth ; others that it is in the 
air ; others that it is in the vicinity of hell ; and 
others that it is identical with the abodes of 
the lost. Even infallible councils and infalli- 
ble popes have been unable to decide this ques- 
tion. Many of the opinions which have been 
advanced respecting it are too ridiculous even to 
be recited. His infallibility Gregory the Great, 
believing the place of punishment to be in the 
centre of the earth, considered the volcanic 
eruptions of iEtna, Vesuvius, and Hecla as 
flames bursting from the fiery abodes of the 
guilty. 

In regard to the nature of the punishment in 
purgatory, there is as great a variety of opinions 
as in reference to its locality. The Council of 



54 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Florence endeavored to fix upon fire as the in- 
strument of punishment. Others have enlisted 
the aid of frosts, ice, and violent tempests. 
Some writers describe the unhappy victims as 
hurried from one extreme of suffering to an- 
other — from scorching flames to the most in- 
tense frosts. 

As for the authority, human or divine, for 
such a place as purgatory, the holy and learned 
fathers afford us very little that is satisfactory 
to a Protestant mind. In the first place, even 
the name of purgatory is not to be found in 
the Scriptures. Nor is there any mention made 
of the punishment which is ascribed to it. 
Certain passages are twisted and tortured out 
of their legitimate meaning to favor it, but the 
ingenuity of man is very severely taxed to ob- 
tain from this source even the shadow of an 
argument. " The body," says one, " of an un- 
happy heretic was never more unmercifully 
mangled and disjointed in a Spanish Inqui- 
sition, with the design of forcing confession, 
than the book of divine revelation is tortured, 
with the intention of compelling it to patron- 
ize purgatory." But the labors of the holy in- 
quisitors and zealous tormentors have been in 
vain. 

Many distinguished theologians have frankly 
acknowledged that there is no scriptural evi- 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 55 

dence for this doctrine. One declares that 
" purgatorial punishment is a matter of human 
opinion, which can be proved neither from 
Scripture, fathers, nor councils." Another says, 
that " the belief of this intermediate place was 
unknown to the apostles and original Chris- 
tians." 

But multitudes profess to found this doctrine 
upon scriptural authority. The following pa- 
thetic words of Job, we are informed, are used 
as the motto of purgatorial societies : " Have 
pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my 
friends ! for the hand of God hath touched me." 
But it is an unfortunate circumstance for the 
advocates of this doctrine, that the patriarch 
uttered this lamentation while he was on the 
earth, and not in purgatory. Yet ignorant Pa- 
pists believe that Job was in purgatory when 
he uttered these words. So much for under- 
standing the Scriptures according to the 
" teachings of the holy mother church, and the 
unanimous consent of the fathers." 

Another passage, which is relied upon, is the 
expression of Christ, in his sermon on the 
mount, that the debtor in a prison shall not 
come out thence till he has " paid the utter- 
most farthing." But it is obvious to every can- 
did reader, that this is simply a metaphor drawn 
from a legal transaction, and can have no ref- 



56 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

erence whatever to purgatory. If the meta- 
phors and images used by Christ and his apos- 
tles are to be taken as the basis of fundamental 
doctrines of faith, we may draw from the Bi- 
ble the greatest errors and absurdities. 

Another argument in favor of purgatory is 
drawn from the declaration of Christ, that the 
sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall 
not be forgiven in this world, nor in the next. 
From this passage the inference is drawn that 
some sins are forgiven in the next world. But 
according to the Romanist, purgatory is a place 
for punishment, not for forgiveness. Only 
those are sent there who have been guilty of 
trivial sins, and they are there to make a full 
expiation for their transgressions. Besides, the 
fact that one sin is unpardonable in a future 
state does not prove that other sins are pardon- 
able. If it is certain that I shall be drowned 
in crossing the Atlantic, this is not proof that 
others who accompany me will be saved. The 
conclusion is not contained in the premise. 

It should also be observed that the original 
Greek word translated world signifies also da- 
ration, time, age, an indefinite period. And 
the idea intended to be conveyed is that ex- 
pressed by St. Mark — " But he that shall 
blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never 
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damna- 
tion." 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 57 

The passage in the First Epistle of Peter, 
wherein it is said that Christ " went and 
preached unto the spirits in prison," is cited as 
a very strong and convincing argument in fa- 
vor of purgatory. But let us examine the 
whole passage ; for as St. Peter was the first 
pope of Rome, (without, however, the least ev- 
idence that he was ever in Rome at all,) his 
authority on this point should have weight! 
After speaking of the death of Christ, he adds, 
" But quickened by the Spirit, by which also he 
went and preached unto the spirits in prison, 
which sometime were disobedient, when once 
the long suffering of God waited in the days 
of Noah, while -the ark was preparing, wherein 
few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." 
Now, the Romanist contends that this prison 
was purgatory, and that Christ, after his cruci- 
fixion, went and preached to the spirits detained 
there. But the very obscurity and difficulties 
connected with the passage, should exclude it 
from a place among the proof texts of any ar- 
ticle of faith. Christ, when on the cross, said 
to the penitent thief, " This day shalt thou be 
with me in paradise." But is paradise a prison 
filled with guilty sinners ? 

You will notice that in the Scripture quoted, 
the reference is to those who were disobedient 
in the time of Noah ; and we are distinctly in- 



58 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

formed in the first chapter of this epistle, that 
the spirit which animated the ancient prophets 
was the Spirit of Christ. The meaning, there- 
fore, is, that through this Spirit, imparted to his 
faithful servant Noah, he preached to the sin- 
ners before the flood, who are now lost spirits. 
The passage is thus paraphrased by Dr. Dod- 
dridge : " But quickened by the Spirit of God, 
even that Spirit, by the inspiration of which 
granted to Noah, * * * he preached to those 
notorious sinners who for their disobedience 
have since experienced the just severity of the 
divine vengeance, and are now in the condition 
of separate spirits, reserved, as it were in pris- 
on, to the severe punishment at the great day. 
I speak of those who were long since disobe- 
dient, when once the long suffering of God 
waited upon them in the days of the patriarch 
Noah, during one hundred and twenty years, 
while the ark was preparing." In this inter- 
pretation the most eminent Protestant com- 
mentators agree, and certainly it corresponds 
with the language and the context. 

But, besides the absence of scriptural proofs, 
the doctrine of purgatory has not even the 
sanction of tradition. " None of the ancients," 
says Edgar, " for four hundred years after the 
Christian era, mention any such place as pur- 
gatory. Many of the fathers testify, in the 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 59 

plainest language, against an intermediate state 
of expiation. Augustine, while he admits that 
there is a heaven and a hell, rejects the idea of 
a third place, as unknown to the church and 
foreign to the Sacred Scriptures. Ephraim and 
Epiphanius disclaim the belief in a middle 
state." A doctrine, therefore, that is sustained 
neither by Scripture nor tradition, must be 
traced to the superstition and avarice of the 
times that gave it birth. That it is profitable, 
if not to the souls of the departed, at least to 
the pockets of the priests, we are ready to al- 
low. There are few decrees of the Council of 
Trent that yield a greater revenue, than, that 
the souls imprisoned in purgatory, are helped 
by the suffrages of the faithful. 

The next article of the Roman Catholic creed 
is as follows: " I do likewise believe that the 
saints reigning together with Christ are to be 
worshipped and invoked, and that they do offer 
prayers unto God for us, and that their relics 
are to be had in veneration." Here we have a 
wide door opened for saint worship and the 
veneration of relics. The scriptural authority 
for this article, is about as clear and abundant, 
as that which sustains the other points which 
we have examined. Indeed, with the teachings 
of the Bible in regard to the duty of rendering 
worship to God only, I see not how such a 



60 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

dogma could find a place in the creed of what 
is called a Christian church. That the fathers 
have not been unanimous in sustaining saint 
worship, appears from the fact that it was con- 
demned in the Council of Constantinople, in 
754, established by the second Council of Nice, 
in 787, and again condemned by the Frankfort 
Council, in 794. In proportion as superstition 
prevailed in the church, the influence of this 
practice increased or decreased. As late, how- 
ever, as the time of the sessions of the Council 
of Trent, we find saint worship in full force. 
This council solemnly enjoined upon all bishops 
and teachers of religion to make it a chief 
point, not indeed to preach Christ and him 
crucified, — not to discourse from the texts, 
" Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 
and him only shalt thou serve ; " " Thou 
shalt not make unto thee any graven image, 
or any likeness of any thing that is in 
heaven above or in the earth beneath : " no ; 
the holy synod gives no such commands, but 
this is their language : the bishops are " dili- 
gently to instruct the faithful, concerning the 
intercession and the invocation of saints, the 
honor of relics, and the lawful use of images; 
teaching them that the saints reigning together 
with Christ, offer to God their prayers for 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 61 

But you may ask, Suppose one, having ob- 
tained access to a Bible, and having read 
such passages as I have quoted, should dissent 
from this doctrine, and refuse to worship and 
pray to finite beings ; what is to be done with 
him ? Is he met with proofs, persuasion, and 
convincing arguments by the fathers of the holy 
Catholic church? I would reply, that he is 
met with one very short, and, to the church, 
convenient argument. It is in these words : 
" But they who deny that the saints are to be 
invoked, or who assert either that they do not 
pray for men, or that the invoking them that 
they may pray for us is idolatry, or that it is 
contrary to the honor of God, are to be ac- 
cursed." They are not to be convinced, nor 
persuaded, nor prayed for, but simply accursed. 

It is true that the Romish fathers make a 
distinction between the worship rendered to 
God, and that to be rendered to the Virgin 
Mary and to the saints. But if you will read 
the titles which are conferred upon the Virgin 
Mary, and the prayers which are offered up to 
her and to the saints, you can judge how far 
this worship is removed from the grossest idol- 
atry. 

In a book entitled the " Garden of the Soul, 
a Manual of Fervent Prayers, Pious Reflec- 
tions, and Solid Instructions" for Papists, I 
6 



62 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



find, in a single petition, no less than forty-five 
different titles given to the Virgin Mary. 

The following is a portion of the prayer to 
be offered by the suppliant while kneeling be- 
fore an image of the Virgin : — 

" We fly to thy patronage, O Holy Mother 
of God ! Despise not our petitions in our neces- 
sities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever- 
glorious and blessed Virgin ! Holy Mary, Holy 
Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, Mother 
of Christ, Mother of divine grace, Mother of our 
Creator, Mirror of Justice, Seat of Wisdom, 
House of God, Ark of the Covenant, Gate of 
Heaven, Morning Star, Refuge of Sinners, &c, 
&c.j pray for us." 

In another volume, which is very popular in 
the Catholic church, may be found the follow- 
ing prayers : — 

" Queen of heaven and of earth ! Mother of 
God ! my sovereign mistress ! I present myself 
before you, as a poor mendicant before a mighty 
queen. From the height of your throne, deign 
to cast your eyes upon a miserable sinner, and 
lose not sight of him till you render him truly 
holy. O illustrious Virgin ! you are the queen 
of the universe, and consequently mine. I de- 
sire to consecrate myself more particularly to 
thy service ; dispose of me according to your 
good pleasure." 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 63 

Again: "Blessed Virgin, who through your 
double quality of queen and mother, dispense 
your favors with such munificence and love! 
I, who am so poor in merit and virtue, and 
greatly indebted to the divine justice, humbly 
recommend myself to you. You, O Mary, 
have the keys of divine mercy ; draw on thine 
inexhaustible treasure, and dispense its riches 
to this poor sinner in proportion to his immense 
wants." 

In a devotional book entitled the " Sacred 
Heart," we read the following exhortation: 
" Come, poor and hardened sinners, how great 
soever your crimes may be, come and behold. 
Mary stretches out her hand to receive you. 
Though insensible to the great concern of your 
salvation, though unfortunately proof against 
the most engaging invitations and inspirations 
of the Holy Ghost, fling yourselves at the feet 
of Mary, this powerful advocate. Her heart is 
all love, all tenderness." Thus we see that 
greater efficacy in securing the conversion of 
men, is attributed to the Virgin Mary, than to 
the Holy Spirit. 

But the most remarkable specimen of Ro- 
man Catholic idolatry, says Dr. Camming, is 
that furnished in a work called the " Psalter of 
the blessed Bonaventura," the author being a 
distinguished saint in the Roman Catholic cal- 



64 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



endar. On St. Bonaventura day, the faithful, 
so called, offer up the following prayer : " O 
Lord, who didst give blessed Bonaventura to 
thy people for a minister of eternal salvation, 
grant that he who was the instructor of our 
life here on earth, may become our intercessor 
in heaven." Of course, the teachings of such 
a saint must be very valuable. Listen, then, 
to some extracts from his extraordinary book. 
It commences thus: " Come unto Mary, all ye 
that labor and are heavy laden, and she will 
give you rest." The nineteenth Psalm reads 
thus : " The heavens declare the glory of the 
Virgin, and the firmament showeth forth her 
handy work." Even the one hundred and tenth 
Psalm, which so directly refers to the Son of 
God, does not escape the corrupting pen of this 
sainted divine. In his version it is thus : " The 
Lord said unto Mary, Stand thou at my right 
hand, until I have made thine enemies thy foot- 
stool." 

There is also in the same work a most blas- 
phemous perversion of a sublime passage of 
the liturgy of the ancient church. Instead of 
the words, " We praise thee, O God ; we ac- 
knowledge thee to be the Lord," the sainted di- 
vine teaches the people thus : " We praise thee, 
O Mary ; we acknowledge thee to be a virgin. 
All the earth doth worship thee. To thee an- 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 65 

gels and archangels, to thee thrones and princi- 
palities, cherubim and seraphim, continually 
cry, Holy, holy, holy art thou, O Mary, mother 
of God ! " Can language be conceived more 
revolting to a pious heart? 

But you may ask, Why does the Papist him- 
self tolerate such idolatry, when every page of the 
Bible so plainly condemns it ? I answer by ask- 
ing, How does he know that the Bible condemns 
it ? The Bible to the millions of Romanists in 
Europe is a sealed book. But I am told that 
they have their catechisms, which contain scrip- 
tural truth. It is true they have, and I will 
give a short extract from one called the 
" Abridgment of Christian Doctrine."* On 
page 119 is the question, " Is it lawful to honor 
the angels and the saints ? " Answer. " Yes." 
Question. " How prove you that ? " Ans. " By 
Revelation xix. 10. ' And I fell down, said he, 
to worship before the feet of the angel, which 
showed me these things.' " Observe that the 
answer stops here, leaving entirely out of view 
the emphatic reply of the angel, " See thou do 
it not ; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy 
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus : 
worship God." Very properly is this work 
called an abridgment of Christian doctrine. 



* See Br. Cum Tiling's work, page 314. 
E 6* 



66 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



The advocates of this doctrine pretend to 
find support for it in the Scriptures ; but it is 
only by misrepresenting the words of inspira- 
tion, and mutilating passages of the Bible, that 
even the show of authority for it is obtained. 
These zealous and learned Romanists entirely 
overlook such passages as the following, which 
teach directly the opposite doctrine : " There 
is one God, and one mediator between God 
and man, the man Christ Jesus." " For 
through him we both have access by one spirit 
unto the Father." "Jesus saith unto him, I 
am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no 
man cometh unto the Father but by me," — 
not by saints, nor by angels, but "by me." 
Can any thing be plainer than this language? 
Yet throughout Catholic Europe we find wor- 
ship rendered to the Virgin and to saints. Dur- 
ing the service of the mass, the priest frequently 
refers to them, as in the prayer, " Deliver us, 
we pray thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, pres- 
ent, and to come, and the blessed and glorious 
Mary, mother of God, with thy blessed apostles, 
Peter, and Paul, and Andrew, and all saints in- 
terceding." 

So prevalent is this idolatry in Italy that, 
Gavazzi tells us, the nation "is called the 
nation of the Virgin, and of the Virgin's prod- 
igality. At every step [he says] we stumble 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 67 

against an altar dedicated to the Virgin, a 
church consecrated to her worship, and every 
day we hear of prodigies wrought by her. In 
Rome more than seventy of her images open 
and shut their eyes; in Ancona her image 
winked before many hundred thousand specta- 
tors, and for many months." 

How wonderful! How extremely edifying 
and improving to hundreds of thousands of 
spectators, to stand and see an image wink ! 
What an exalted privilege! to say nothing of 
the machinery behind the picture worked by 
infallible priests — by the illustrious successors 
of the apostles. But, what is still more re- 
markable, one of her images in Rome shed 
tears in great profusion, and another at Lucca, 
" with maternal fondness, moved the infant Je- 
sus from one side to another, to save him from 
a stone cast at him by an impious hand, and 
received it on her own face, which still retains 
the trace of the blow." In Italy there are 
many original portraits painted by St. Luke, 
who never was a painter. In Geneva, Flor- 
ence, Naples, Palermo, Messina, and in almost 
every town, there are sanctuaries, shrines, and 
relics of the Madonna, the blessed mother of 
God. 

The expenses of this idolatry are enormous. 
While the gospel of Jesus Christ is furnished 



68 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

without money and without price, the worship 
of the Virgin, and the other rites of the Papacy, 
impoverish the people. " Her altars and tem- 
ples are extremely rich, abounding in gold, sil- 
ver, diamonds, mosaics, carvings, laces, and 
embroideries — all wrung from the sweat and 
blood of the people. The revenues of her 
house of Loretto alone amount to eighty thou- 
sand dollars. All her festivals cost the people 
dearly. Her shrines and sanctuaries every 
where, but especially at Oropa, Genoa, Turin, 
Florence, Leghorn, Naples, &c, are exorbitantly 
rich, and are maintained at a vast expenditure, 
wrung from the wretched people in minute 
sums. The people are plundered to support 
this superstition. They starve, while the wealth 
extorted from them, exceeds the united wealth 
of all the monarehs of Europe. These vast 
sums, applied to commerce, would make the 
prosperity of Italy, the safety of all Italians ; 
but they are robbed from the community, and 
set apart for dumb, idle, idolatrous show, to in- 
flate the pride of Jesuits and priests, to lead for- 
eigners to visit, marvel at, and pay a tribute to, 
the shrines of the blessed Virgin Mary." 

This idolatrous worship is also made use of 
to strengthen the chains of despotism. Pope 
Pius IX. attributes his restoration to the throne, 
and the defeat of the Italian patriots, to the 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 69 

agency of the Virgin Mary ; although it should 
be remembered that the Virgin was assisted in 
this work by four foreign armies ! As proof, 
however, of the correctness of the pope's view 
of the matter, we are informed that the miracu- 
lous Virgin at Rimini, pleased with his resto- 
ration to the throne, for many months opened 
her eyes in the presence of the people. His in- 
fallibility, in return, in order to confirm the 
miracle in the eyes of the deludfed people, and 
to show his gratitude, presented, notwithstand- 
ing his poverty, to the Virgin, a crown of gold. 
There is scarcely a scene in the history of 
Italy, more melancholy, than that connected 
with this instance of superstition. After ages 
of oppression, suffering, and galling tyranny, 
the people had succeeded in breaking the iron 
framework of despotism, that had so long 
crushed them. The pope had been compelled 
to flee from Rome. His sceptre appeared to be 
broken. Hope had dawned upon the nation, 
and the people breathed an air of freedom. But 
suddenly a vast crowd is seen approaching the 
city. The music of foreign drums and trumpets 
is heard. Foreign bayonets are seen flashing 
in the distance. The tyrant is being borne 
back to his throne by the steel-clad hosts of 
despotic Europe. A strange position for the 
the vicar of Christ, for the representative of the 



70 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

meek and lowly Jesus ! Not in every particu- 
lar like Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem 
is this scene! The feelings and purposes of 
the heroes differ as widely as heaven and hell. 
Instead of blessings, the monster comes with 
the most terrible curses and anathemas for 
the people. Instead of flowers and branches 
strewed along the way, the road is covered 
with the mangled forms of the dead. Instead 
of the shout, Hosanna to the Son of David, the 
awful cry of despair ascends from the doomed 
victims of Papal wrath. Rivers of blood flow. 
Twenty thousand noble Italian patriots are 
driven into exile or chained in gloomy dungeons. 
And to crown the infamous and bloody tragedy, 
the sanction of Heaven is claimed for the tri- 
umph, and the proof is furnished by the wink- 
ing Virgin. Thus superstition and despotism 
join hand in hand. Thus, these Christian idol- 
ators deal with those who would escape from 
their grasp, and worship the only living and 
true God. 

In the article of the creed which we have 
quoted, the veneration of relics is also enjoined 
upon the faithful. This feature of the Papacy 
is also a source of great superstition to the 
people, and great profit to the priests. The 
affection with which we regard the mementoes 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 71 

of departed friends is by the Romish church 
perverted, and made the basis of one of the 
most stupendous systems of fraud and impos- 
ture that ever disgraced human society. The 
extent to which this superstition is carried is 
perfectly astounding. While the pagans were 
content to worship the sun, moon, stars, birds, 
and beasts, the Papist explores dark and gloomy 
cemeteries, invades the sanctity of the grave, 
ransacks the very regions of death and corrup- 
tion, and with decayed bones, bits of wood and 
clothing, decorates the altars of religion. The 
relics connected with Christ — the cross, the 
spear, the sponge, the nails, and the crown of 
thorns — are innumerable. Also those con- 
nected with the Virgin Mary it would weary 
you to enumerate. 

In the little chapel that contains the cele- 
brated staircase, which thousands ascend upon 
their knees, there is a picture of the Savior, by 
Luke — also a feather from the wing of the 
archangel, which he dropped on the salutation 
of Mary — a bottle of the tears which Christ 
shed at the grave of Lazarus — the cord which 
bound the Savior when he was scourged — and 
numerous other relics. The Church of Santa 
Croce is famous for its relics. A distinguished 
writer says that near the chancel are two cata- 
logues, hung up for the perusal of all. One is 



72 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

a detail of the indulgences granted to all who 
there worship, and the other is a list of its sa- 
cred relics. I will quote a portion of them : — 

" Three pieces of the true cross, deposited by 
Constantine, and kept in a case of gold and 
jewels. 

" The title placed over the cross, with the 
writing in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 

" One of the most holy nails by which our 
Lord was crucified. 

" Two thorns from the crown of our Lord. 

" The transverse beam of the cross of the 
penitent thief. 

" One of the pieces of money supposed to 
have been given for the betrayal of Christ. 

" The cord by which our Lord was bound to 
the cross. 

" A large piece of the coat of Christ. 

" Some of the clothing of St. John the Bap- 
tist. 

" Portions of the arms of St. Peter and St. 
Paul. 

" A piece of the sepulchre of Christ. 

" Some of the manna which fell in the wil- 
derness. 

" A piece of Mount Calvary. 

" Some relics of eleven prophets. 

" A part of the head of John the Baptist. 

" A tooth of St. Peter," &c. 



f 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 73 

Then follows a list of some bones of one 
hundred and one apostles, prophets, martyrs, 
widows, and virgins, and the whole closes up 
with " a hundred and thirty-seven cases of 
other relics of saints, both male and female, 
whose names antiquity has not distinguished." 

Thus richly is this one church endowed with 
holy relics. On certain occasions they are ex- 
hibited by venerable cardinals and bishops, for 
the adoration and worship of the people. 

" In St. Peter's they show you the very pillar 
against which Jesus leaned in the temple at Je- 
rusalem — portions of the cross — the head of 
St. Andrew. In St. John Lateran is the table 
at which the Lord's supper was instituted. At 
St. Pietre di Vinculo they show you the chain 
that bound Peter, and which was miraculously 
broken by the angel ! Filings from this chain 
have been sold at exorbitant prices, to be set in 
rings and breastpins by the faithful." 

But I will not weary you, with the recital of 
the evidences of the gross ignorance and super- 
stition of the people, and the wickedness of the 
priests who thus delude them. It is most 
painful to reflect upon the fact, that one hun- 
dred and fifty millions of the human family are 
under the dominion of such superstitions. And 
those whose office and solemn duty it is to en- 
lighten, and elevate, and save these millions 
7 



74 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



are employing all their energies to keep them 
in darkness, perpetuate these delusions, and 
prevent a single ray of gospel light from enter- 
ing their minds. Instead of exhibiting the 
doctrines of the glorious gospel of the blessed 
God, — instead of stimulating the people to a 
life of virtue and holiness, by a presentation of 
the glories of heaven, — the pope, cardinals, and 
bishops bring forth, with great pomp, these bits 
of dry bones, ragged coats, rotten wood, and 
compel the people to bow down and worship 
them. And this they call the religion of the 
Lord Jesus Christ! This, forsooth, is the only 
way of salvation ! And if one of these poor 
devotees is found reading his Bible, — is found 
searching the Scriptures according to the di- 
vine command, — he is anathematized or cast 
into prison. He must bow down to these gath- 
erings from old graveyards and cemeteries, or 
he is pronounced accursed. 

But you may ask, What can be the motive 
for perpetuating such gross superstitions? Av- 
aricious priests and monks can answer this 
question. These relics have a great mercantile 
value in the Papal markets. They yield im- 
mense revenues. Multitudes are attracted to 
their shrines, and pay largely for a sight of the 
relics. Even Protestants pay thousands of dol- 
lars, annually, and then laugh at the supersti- 



PRINCIPLES OF POPERY, CONTINUED. 75 

tion of those whose credulity is so completely 
imposed upon. 

When relics are needed for new churches in 
this country, they are ordered from Rome; and 
it is a remarkable feature of this trade, that 
however numerous the orders are from every 
part of the world, the supply is always equal to 
the demand. Whether they are multiplied mi- 
raculously, or not, we are not informed. 



IV. 

ANTAGONISM BETWEEN POPERY AND CIVIL 
FREEDOM. 

"Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with 

THEE, WHICH FRAMETH MISCHIEF BY A LAW." — Psalm XCiV. 
20. 

I propose, in this lecture, to discuss the bear- 
ing of Popery upon freedom, and social and 
national happiness. 

That we may not be charged with bringing 
against the Romish church unfounded accusa- 
tions, or with dealing with antiquated princi- 
ples of government which have been abandoned 
or repudiated, we will quote the opinions which 
have recently been advanced by the advocates 
of Romanism in America. And it should be 
observed, that whatever is said against religious 
freedom, bears with equal force against civil 
freedom, for the two are inseparably connected. 
One cannot exist without the other. 

Hear, then, the language used by the " Shep- 
herd of the Valley," November 23. 
" The church is of necessity intolerant. 

(7< 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 77 

she endures when and where she must; but she 
hates it, and directs all her energies to its de- 
struction. If Catholics ever gain an immense 
numerical majority, religious freedom in this 
country is at an end. So our enemies say. So 
we believe." 

Another authority, high in the church, has 
said, " That popes and general councils have 
passed the most bloody and persecuting laws 
against all whom they were pleased to denomi- 
nate as heretics, is now generally conceded by 
intelligent defenders of the Catholic faith, and 
it is maintained, as we have seen, that if they 
should ever obtain a decided numerical major- 
ity in this country, they will be bound by the 
very nature of their religion to act on the same 
principles, and consequently religious liberty 
will thus be at an end. ' So our enemies say. 
So say ive? " 

Listen to the words of Brownson's Review, 
which is the acknowledged organ of Romanism 
in this country, and is indorsed by nearly 
the whole Roman Catholic hierarchy in the 
United States. Indeed, Mr. Brownson has 
asserted that he writes nothing without the 
sanction of his bishop. On the subject of the 
pope's authority, he says, in his Review for 1854, 
'7, "We believe in the direct temporal 
y of the pope, as vicar of Jesus Christ 



78 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

on earth." " The church (in the person of the 
pope) bears, by divine right, both swords (tem- 
poral and spiritual.) The temporal sovereign 
holds it, [that is, the temporal sword,] to be ex- 
ercised under her directions." 

And what, you may ask, is the authority of 
the pope, according to the admissions of the 
Romish church? The question is answered 
by the Council of Trent, in the following lan- 
guage : " Sitting in the chair in which Peter, 
the prince of the apostles, sat to the close of his 
life, the church recognizes in his person the 
most exalted degrees of dignity, and the full 
amplitude of jurisdiction — a dignity and juris- 
diction not based on synodal, or other human con- 
stitutions, but emanating from no less authority 
than God himself" 

Here we see the most absolute despotism 
conferred upon the head of the Papal church, 
and conferred in the name of Almighty God. 
Powers the most unlimited, in civil, social, and 
religious matters, are committed to him, and all 
the forces and influences at the command of 
the church are employed to sustain his supreme 
authority. 

The sentiments of Brownson, with regard to 
the constitution of the United States, are thus 
responded to by one who signs himself Apos- 
tolicus : " I say with Brownson, that if the 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 79 

church should declare that the constitution, and 
the very existence of this or any other country, 
should be extinguished, it is a solemn ordinance 
of God himself, and every good Catholic would 
be bound, under the penalty of the terrible pun- 
ishment pronounced against the disobedient, to 
obey? 

Bishop O' Conner, of Pittsburg, says, " Re- 
ligious liberty is only endured till the opposite 
can be established with safety to the Catholic 
world." The Bishop of St. Louis declares, 
" America will soon be Catholic, and then re- 
ligious liberty will cease to exist." 

Such are the sentiments which are openly 
proclaimed in free America, not by men who 
have been wronged, or who have suffered under 
our institutions, but by those who have access 
to all the advantages which the nation affords, 
and whose lives, property, and right of speech 
are protected by the very government which 
they so bitterly and wantonly assail. 

We throw w T ide open the gates of our nation 
to the oppressed and suffering of all countries 
and languages ; we place at the feet of the mil- 
lions who come to our shores all the social, 
civil, educational, and religious advantages 
which the toil of our fathers and the industry 
and enterprise of their descendants have secured; 
and we are repaid by sentiments most insulting 



80 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



to our national honor, by designs against our 
government of a most treasonable character, 
and by attempts to destroy that liberty which 
constitutes the attraction and glory of our land. 
And if we raise our voices in reply, if we pre- 
sume to inquire into the nature and fruits of 
that system which boldly proclaims its antag- 
onism to freedom and to the constitution of the 
United States, why, the Roman Catholic cries 
out that we are persecuting him, and that we 
had better look to our own affairs, and not med- 
dle with others'. He would have, I presume, 
the millions of Protestants in America listen to 
the astounding quotations which I have made, 
in meek silence, and be the quiet and uninter- 
ested observers of the efforts that are being made 
to corrupt our government, destroy our free 
schools, and overthrow our liberties. He must 
indeed have an exalted view of our amiable- 
ness and meekness, to entertain such an idea. 
Certainly the past history of the American 
people, in their dealings with the foes of their 
liberties, does not warrant the Romanist in enter- 
taining such an opinion. I hope that we are not 
deficient in the virtue of amiableness, nor slow, 
on all proper occasions, to exercise it ; but that 
this is not the only virtue of the American peo- 
ple, I need not stop to prove. I believe that there 
is in this land such a thing as patriotism. I 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 81 

believe that there is here a love of civil and 
religious liberty which Romish priests and po- 
litical demagogues combined will find it exceed- 
ingly difficult to destroy. And the right to 
discuss every question, and examine every 
movement that touches our religious or nation- 
al welfare, the American people will never 
relinquish. 

The despotic character of Popery is developed, 
in the first place, in the uniform and persevering 
efforts of its leaders to destroy liberty of thought. 
The first object aimed at is, to break down the 
independence of the mind and enslave the con- 
science. The position is taken at the outset, 
that the whole machinery of the intellect, of the 
emotions, desires, and will, shall be worked and 
guided by the church; that a man shall think, 
reason, and believe, only as the church shall 
prescribe. Now, such an assumption of power 
is a direct attack upon the foundations of mo- 
rality and human responsibility. The Almighty 
has conferred upon man reason, judgment, and 
conscience, that they may be exercised inde- 
pendently, in regard to questions of truth and 
duty. And to place the conscience in the 
power of another, — to require a man to con- 
fess his sins to a priest rather than to God, — 
is to remove the strong barriers of virtue, and 
open the floodgates of every form of abuse and 



82 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

tyranny. Even allowing that the priests are 
as pure and holy as the angels of heaven, the 
influence of such a doctrine cannot be other- 
wise than most pernicious. But if the priest 
becomes corrupt, and abuses the immense 
power which he wields, we readily see how dis- 
astrous must be the consequences. The inti- 
macy of the relation that subsists between him 
and the people, — the opportunity afforded at 
stated periods of knowing their secret thoughts 
and purposes, and suggesting, by inquiries or 
otherwise, evil principles, — give to him a power 
to undermine virtue and corrupt the conscience, 
that belongs to no other system. And the extent 
to which such a power has been exercised, it is 
most appalling to contemplate. From the con- 
fessional there have flowed influences that have 
poisoned thousands of hearts, blasted the noblest 
virtues, destroyed the peace of families, and cor- 
rupted every class in society. Children have 
been led to inform against parents, and parents 
against children. Secrets essential to domestic 
happiness have been extorted from members of 
families. Friend, under the influence of threats, 
or promises, or flatteries, has been made to tes- 
tify against friend, and one citizen against an- 
other. 

"We are told that auricular confession is a 
religious institution; but even a superficial 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 83 

examination of its workings shows that it is a 
mighty political engine. It is a most skilfully 
arranged machinery for sustaining tyrants, and 
keeping the people in absolute subjection. The 
idea that it originated in Christianity, or was 
sustained by Christ or the apostles, is too absurd 
to require a formal refutation. It is sufficient 
to condemn it just to state, that its first patron 
was Pope Innocent III., whose career of tyran- 
ny and usurpation surpassed even that of the 
cruel Gregory. This bloodthirsty tyrant saw the 
necessity of this instrument for the full accom- 
plishment of his despotic purposes, and hence 
employed it. And we are free to declare, that 
where this system of auricular confession pre- 
vails, there can be no real religious or civil free- 
dom. Just look at it for a moment. Here is 
a class of men, calling themselves priests, who 
hold supreme power over the consciences of the 
people ; who stand in the place of God to them, 
receiving the confession of their sins, and grant- 
ing them absolution. They have access to the 
most secret thoughts, motives, and desires of 
their victims. Their selfish purposes they can, 
in Papal countries, enforce, not only by the 
authority and power of the church, with the 
horrors of the Inquisition at its command, but 
by the strong arm of the civil government. 
Now, upon such a basis, how is it possible to 



84 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

establish free institutions ? Even if, in the 
heat of successful revolution, liberty is pro- 
claimed throughout a Papal country, how 
long do the people continue to enjoy it? Let 
the history of the revolutions in Catholic 
France answer. Even with the glorious watch- 
words, " Liberty, equality, fraternity," we find 
that liberty soon yielding to the demands of 
an iron despotism, that equality lost in the 
arrogant assumptions of ecclesiastical and priv- 
ileged classes, and fraternity swallowed up 
in a grasping selfishness, that knows no law 
but that which contributes to pride, lust, and 
avarice. 

Besides the control gained over the mind and 
the conscience by the confessional, this institu- 
tion works most disastrously upon the virtues 
and integrity of society, and thus unfits the 
people for sustaining republican institutions. 
The code of morals which has been adopted 
for the government of the confessional allows 
practices and immoralities that are utterly sub- 
versive of public integrity. Special prominence 
is given to the two principles, that a man may 
" do evil that good may come," and that " the 
end sanctifies the means." Under the shelter 
of these false maxims, the people have been 
encouraged to utter falsehoods, commit perjury, 
swear under mental reservations, and practise 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 85 

deceit, whenever the interests of the Papacy- 
could thereby be promoted. Under the same 
license the most atrocious acts have been com- 
mitted, of which the gunpowder plot, so well 
known in English history, is an example. Rev- 
olutions, too, have often been extinguished, 
and the efforts of the noblest patriots thwarted, 
by means of the confessional. " We have," 
says a distinguished convert from Romanism, 
" in Italy three bulls of three different popes, 
Pius VII, Leo XII., and Gregory XVI, obli- 
ging all penitents to discover all among their 
relatives who are adherents to the liberal cause." 
Thus the names of all patriots are known to 
the authorities of the church, so that in Italy 
a control over one heart (generally a female 
one) implicates many others. Sisters betray 
their brothers, wives their husbands, and, what 
is horrible to relate, being against the law of 
nature, and only possible in the cruel system of 
Rome, mothers are obliged to accuse their own 
children ! We have in Italy, not one, but hun- 
dreds of thousands of brothers, husbands, and 
sons, young men, condemned to the galleys, 
exile, and the scaffold, only in order that their 
sisters, wives, and mothers can receive sacra- 
mental absolution from the priests." 

The most bloody wars against heretics, that 
is, believers in a pure and living gospel, have 
8 



86 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

been stimulated by promises of the pardon of 
sin. When that cruel monster, Pope Innocent 
III., offered the pardon of sin and the rewards 
of martyrdom to all who would enlist for the 
destruction of the Albigenses, half a million of 
holy warriors, consisting of bishops, soldiers, 
and private citizens, responded to the call, and 
entered with zeal into the war. Deluded with 
the idea that, if they fell in battle, they would at 
once be received to the honors and glories of 
heaven, they prosecuted the slaughter of these 
innocent Christians with the most relentless 
cruelty. At the storming of the city of Beziers, 
in 1209, all were put to the sword without regard 
to age, condition, sex, or even religion. " When 
the crusaders and Albigenses were so mixed 
that they could not be discriminated, Arnold, the 
Papal missionary, commanded the soldiery < to 
kill all, and God would know his own.' Seven 
hundred were slain in the church," and the 
altars were drenched with blood. Some histo- 
rians estimate that sixty thousand perished in 
this awful battle. 

The beautiful province of Languedoc was 
swept by the devastating fire of these infuriated 
victims of Romish superstition and despotism. 
It is said that in a single day' a hundred thou- 
sand Albigenses fell. Wherever the holy war- 
riors went, the burning of villages and harvests, 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 87 

the groans of the dying and the shrieks of the de- 
spairing, bore witness to their atrocity and cruel- 
ty. This war, with its accompanying calamities, 
lasted twenty years, and involved the destruction 
of hundreds of thousands of crusaders, as well as 
the slaughter of the vast multitudes, against 
whom the arms of the Papal church were directed. 
Such is but one instance of the many fur- 
nished by history, of the effects of the principles 
under consideration. Let the doctrine be es- 
tablished, that one erring, sinful man can par- 
don the sins of another, can have unlimited 
control over the consciences of a people, and 
not only is freedom crushed, but the most 
atrocious and despotic measures may be car- 
ried out. And the bold announcement in the 
Catholic journals of America, that religious 
liberty must end here with the triumph of 
Popery, and that every Catholic will be sol- 
emnly bound to destroy the constitution of the 
United States if the church decrees it, should 
arouse us to a sense of our duties and respon- 
sibilities. Whether these astounding and trea- 
sonable threats are ever carried into execution or 
not, depends, in my view, upon the vigilance, 
patriotism, and Christian efforts of the Protes- 
tant community. If there is added to Papal 
aggression a general apathy on the part of the 
true followers of Christ, a disposition to quietly 



88 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

yield to the encroachments upon our free school 
system, and to court the popular favor and votes 
of the Catholic population, then we have grounds 
for serious apprehensions. If, on the other hand, 
Protestants can be brought up to the standard 
of their duty, if patriotism can maintain the 
ascendency over party politics, and the freedom 
of our school system be preserved, we have, 
with the blessing of God upon our efforts, noth- 
ing to fear. 

But let us judge the tree by its fruits. Let 
us inquire what are the actual effects of Roman- 
ism upon civil freedom and national prosperity 
and happiness in those countries where it holds 
undisputed sway. Take, for example, Rome, 
the Holy City, so called — the seat of the pope 
— where the p.eople have been for long ages 
under the moulding influence of the priests and 
bishops of the 'church — where no reformation 
has disturbed the public order and the estab- 
lished religious services, and what is the con- 
dition of the people ? If there is a spot on the 
earth where, allowing the claims of the Papacy, 
we should look for the brightest virtues, purest 
morals, best government, and the choicest spir- 
itual and temporal advantages, that spot is the 
city of Rome. But what are the facts in the 
case? Listen to the testimony of a distin- 
guished divine, who was born in Ireland, of Ro- 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 89 

man Catholic parents, and educated in the faith 
of the Papal church, and was led by reading the 
Bible to embrace the truth as it is in Jesus. 
This honest and impartial witness thus testifies : 
" I have been to the Holy City ; I have seen its 
pope, cardinals, and priests. I sought there 
information as to its civil, social, and religious 
state ; and from personal examination, and 
from testimony received from the most credible 
witnesses, both natives and foreign residents, I 
am prepared to say that, from the extent of its 
population, there is not a worse governed, less 
religious, a more immoral people in Chris- 
tendom. And, tried by its priests, where there 
are no obstacles to prevent its natural results, 
Romanism should be the abhorrence of all flesh. 
" There is no personal liberty in Rome. Since 
the return of the pope from Naples to the Vat- 
ican, the reins of despotism ha've been tight- 
ened by a powerful hand. The patriots that 
could escape have fled; and you find them in 
Genoa, Turin, Geneva, France, and Britain, 
homeless, yet hopeful exiles, strong in faith 
that the sun of liberty will yet rise, even over 
Rome. The suspected are in prison, and the 
prisons are crowded. Spies, by day and by 
night, surround those who show any lack of 
confidence in the priests. While I was there, 
the plan was completed of dividing the city into 
8* 



90 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

small sections of about twenty families each, 
and of placing a priest over each of these sec- 
tions; nominally to look after their religious 
wants, but really to act as the spies of the 
government." 

The writer then proceeds to cite some in- 
stances illustrative of the extent to which the 
oppressive measures of the government are car- 
ried. " A young Roman, a few years since, 
went to Sardinia, where he married. Business 
failed him, and he returned to Rome to seek 
employment, leaving his 'wife and children be- 
hind him. He entered the employment of a 
person who in the revolution took part against 
the government. Within the present year, that 
man wished to return to his family ; and with 
the certificate of the magistrate of his district, 
and of the priest of his section, he presented him- 
self to the head of the police, who, I learned, 
is a priest. But simply because he was recorded 
as having been in the employ of an enemy of 
the old government, instead of getting his pass- 
port, he was ordered to prison ; and where im- 
prisoned, none know but God and the priests." 

" Take another instance of the glorious lib- 
erty with which Romanism would bless us. 
The government holds a monopoly in tobacco, 
and this monopoly it farms out to the highest 
bidder. The more tobacco used, the greater 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 91 

the duties accruing, and the higher the church 
can sell the monopoly. Knowing this, and to 
curtail the revenues of the priests, those who 
bear no fervent love to them agreed to refrain 
from its use, and to induce their friends to do 
the same. One evening, a man named Peter 
Ercolo met a friend in a coffee room smoking 
a cigar, and persuaded him to smoke no more. 
There were several bystanders. Soon Ercolo 
was arrested, was tried before the Second Tri- 
bunal, and found guilty of the crime of per- 
suading his friend to use no more cigars ; and 
for this crime a respectable man, between thirty 
and forty years of age, was torn from his family, 
and sentenced for twenty years to the galleys! 
And I read," adds the writer, "the sentence as 
placarded on the chief corners of the city of 
Rome, and as signed by Cardinal Antonelli." 

The annoyances and vexations to which the 
people are subject from the police are absolutely 
intolerable. In our beloved country, we look up 
to this order of men with respect, because they 
dispense justice, protect the injured, and con- 
tribute to the peace and happiness of society. 
But in Italy, they are every where present, 
watching the people in all their, movements, 
prying into secrets, searching papers, and 
throwing into prison every one who becomes 
in the least degree obnoxious to the commis- 



92 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

sary of police. On this subject Gavazzi, in his 
lecture on the present state of Italy, says, " The 
police enter into our houses, our private rooms, 
our domestic cabinets. They inspect, judge, 
and condemn our thoughts, looks, words, and 
acts. We have no free speech, no free meet- 
ings, no free pres-s ; nothing is free in Italy. If 
we only have an aspiration for the freedom of 
Italy, the police persecute it, stifle it. 

" At Rome, sisters, wives, and mothers, for 
dropping some tears on the tombstones of 
brothers, husbands, or children, were flung into 
prison by Pius IX., < Christ's vicar,' because to 
shed tears upon the graves of martyrs for Ital- 
ian freedom is considered more than a crime — a 
treason ! Our police is worse than the dreadful 
ear of Dionysius of Syracuse, who from the 
bottom of a well could hear every word spoken 
by his prisoners in their dungeons. We must 
suspect every one — friends, relatives, domestics ; 
for any one of these may be an emissary of the 
police. To meet friends it is necessary to ob- 
tain a license ; and in some parts of Italy, if 
more than three speak together in streets or 
coffee houses, the police interfere, as in an ac- 
tual mob. If at a dinner party you have more 
than ten, this is a crime; and to avoid disturb- 
ances, you must solicit beforehand a permis- 
sion for your dinner. In the Roman states, the 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 93 

masters of houses were obliged to pay some 
government ruffians, who with sword and mus- 
ket were introduced into the very room where 
the company were assembled during all the 
time of the party. These vexations and cruel- 
ties have now reached such a height, that when 
relatives, even brothers, desire to visit their dear- 
est friends in exile, the police deny them pass- 
ports, and instead grant them papers for their 
own exile. This," adds the illustrious exile, M is 
no life, but a continual death, a perpetual an- 
guish ; it is to be held in constant torture, be- 
tween love of native country and the hell of 
our tyrants." 

Such, then, is the civil liberty enjoyed in 
the " Holy City," the metropolis of Christen- 
dom, the residence of godly cardinals and 
priests, the spot whence flow the temporal and 
spiritual blessings that fill the Papal world. 
Such is the care which the holy father, the 
pope, exercises over his dear children ; and his 
watchful tenderness is still further displayed by 
the aid which he receives from Austrian swords 
and French bayonets, in administering the af- 
fairs of his paternal, Christian government! 
Nor is this all. Every confessor, bishop, and 
priest is a spy, to watch the people, and is 
ready to crush the least movement towards 
freedom in religion, politics, or social life. 



94 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Such, too, is the liberty with which the sixteen 
hundred priests, thirty-two bishops, and seven 
archbishops, in America, would bless our land ! 
They would exchange our admirable system of 
police for the iron, cold-blooded despotism that 
prevails in Italy ; our free discussion for a si- 
lence that is preserved at the point of the bayo- 
net ; our liberty to worship God according to 
the dictates of our own consciences for idle 
forms and superstitious mummeries, enforced 
by the horrors of the Inquisition, and by curses 
that would shock any but a fiend to hear recit- 
ed. For it should be remembered that these 
priests in America receive all their authority 
from these Roman tyrants. To them they are 
responsible ; to them they owe an allegiance 
which compels them to be the foes of American 
liberty. The moment they transfer their alle- 
giance and affections to our government, the 
moment they imbibe the sentiments of Ameri- 
can patriotism, and live and labor for the good 
of the country of their adoption, that moment 
they cease to be Iloman Catholic priests; and 
they are free to tell us, through their journals, 
that this is, in truth, their position. They tell 
us that they intend, when they get the power, 
to destroy American liberty and the United 
States constitution ; and I must say that we 
are much obliged to them for giving us, thus 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 95 

early, this piece of information. With all their 
deceit and treachery they have been honest for 
once! 

In studying the condition of Italy, I am un- 
able to discover that any measures are adopt- 
ed by the Romish church to promote the good 
of the people. All the laws of the government, 
the duties of the priesthood, the rites, forms, 
and even doctrines of the church, contribute to 
the despotism, or pride, or avarice, or licentious- 
ness of the rulers. The government, instead of 
being a shield of protection, becomes, under 
the workings of Romanism, a vast machinery 
for crushing out the hopes, happiness, and very 
life of the people. The penitent is summoned 
to the confessional, not that his sins may be 
pardoned, but that he may furnish the means 
for strengthening the chains of his slavery. All 
the hopes, aspirations, desires, and fears of the 
human soul are seized, and perverted to some 
atrocious or tyrannical purpose. The confiding 
disposition and strong affections of the female 
heart are used as instruments for the accom- 
plishment of the basest designs. Even the so- 
lemnity of the dying hour is invaded by the 
rapacity of the priesthood. Through the prom- 
ises and threats of the confessor, who is usually 
left alone with the dying person, money and 
whole estates are extorted from the poor victim. 



96 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



He is made to believe that his escape from pur- 
gatory, and his admission to heaven, depend 
upon his leaving his property to the church ; 
and when this plan is not successful, the prop- 
erty is often secured by the perjury of a priest, 
or by some other illegal means. I might cite 
numerous cases in confirmation of this state- 
ment. The traveller from whom we have al- 
ready quoted states the following instances : 
"A Roman of wealth married a lady of foreign 
birth, by whom he had a large family of chil- 
dren. After a life of affection and harmony, 
he died, leaving his property to his widow and 
children, by a will duly authenticated. Al- 
though regardless of the priests in health, he 
sent for one when dying ; who confessed and 
anointed him, and fixed him off for purgatory 
or paradise. A few days after his death, that 
priest swore, before the tribunal having jurisdic- 
tion in such cases, that the dying man confessed 
to him a great sin ; to atone for which he wished 
his entire property, contrary to his will, to go 
to the church. And on the oath of that priest, 
the will of the deceased was set aside, his prop- 
erty was turned into the treasury of the church, 
and his widow and children were turned out 
penniless on the world." 

Another instance was that of " an old man 
of large possessions, who married a young and 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 97 

beautiful lady, and died, leaving a son behind 
him, the heir of his possessions. Just on the 
eve of the child's majority, a suit was institut- 
ed to prevent his entering on his paternal pos- 
sessions, on the ground of his illegitimacy ; and 
the church gained the suit — the mother of the 
boy testifying to her own shame, and confessing 
that the father of the child was a crimson- 
capped cardinal." 

Such are the workings of justice under a Ro- 
man Catholic government. Nor does this cov- 
etousness stop with the last breath of the dying 
man. It follows his soul into purgatory, and 
prosecutes a brisk trade upon the probabilities 
of the spirit's escaping the tortures of that im- 
aginary prison. If the man dies wealthy, leav- 
ing enough to have a great many masses cele- 
brated for his soul, his detention in these disa- 
greeable regions is short, compared with that 
of the poor man from whom fortune has with- 
held its gifts. Now, there is reason in all things ; 
and I 'say that, after the poor victim has been 
taxed, fleeced, and has lived through a long life 
with the terrors of the Inquisition, and curses, 
and exile, and death, before his eyes, and been 
true to all the superstitions of the Romish faith, 
his soul should be allowed to rest in peace. 
The solemnities of death and the tremendous 
realities of an immortal state are enough to 
a 9 



98 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

absorb the attention and anxieties of the dying 
man, without his being annoyed by a corrupt 
priest bargaining with him for the price to be 
paid for masses for his soul. It is certainly a 
refinement of avarice, it is a depth in human 
depravity which is not often reached, for a class 
of men in the name of religion to speculate 
upon the dead, and divide the profits of a busi- 
ness that has its locality in the infernal regions. 

But we have further evidence of the misera- 
ble condition of the Roman states under the 
Papal government. Intelligent and Christian 
travellers assure us that even in Rome itself 
there is found no vital religion, no Sabbath, no 
stated preaching, no meetings for any Christian, 
humane, or benevolent purpose, no freedom of 
the press, or protection to one's rights. 

The Sabbath is only distinguished from other 
days by greater gayety in the streets, more buy- 
ing and selling, and larger crowds in the mar- 
kets and places of public resort. If occasion- 
ally there is preaching, the truths of the gospel 
are not presented to the people, but the virtues 
of some saints or the piety and authority of the 
pope, or the wickedness of the reformers, are 
discoursed upon. The appointed feast days and 
festivals of the church are much more respected 
than the Christian Sabbath. Should a meeting 
be held for any humane or benevolent purpose, 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 99 

it would be at once broken up. Gavazzi, for 
attempting once to preach a sermon in behalf 
of an infants' school, was compelled to abstain 
from preaching for twelve months. 

The freedom of the press has no existence in 
the Roman states. If a man writes a book, 
and wishes to publish it, he must submit it to 
three revisions before he is allowed to print a 
single page. It must be first carefully reviewed 
by a priest appointed by the bishop, who is at 
liberty to expunge whatever he deems objec- 
tionable or dangerous to the state. Then the 
author must take it to the civil reviser, and al- 
low him to alter, amend, or expunge, according 
as his ignorance, bigotry, or intolerance may 
suggest. Finally, it must be revised by an offi- 
cer of the Inquisition ; and after the manuscript 
has been tortured and mangled, and the lan- 
guage made to express just what the tyrants 
desire, the happy author is permitted to pub- 
lish. Should he, however, alter a single word 
after these revisions, he is thrown into prison 
and fined a thousand francs. 

In regard to public improvements and prog- 
ress in the useful arts, the Roman states are 
perfectly dead. Conservatism reigns trium- 
phant. The same habits and modes of life 
that existed centuries ago exist now. So afraid 
are the tyrants of any kind of light, that it is 



100 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



only recently, and at the urgent demands of the 
French government, that gas has been intro- 
duced into Rome. For six years it was stren- 
uously opposed. The godly fathers wished the 
outward darkness to correspond with the dark- 
ness of their doctrines and the gross darkness 
of their characters. The idea of walking 
through streets lighted with gas filled them 
with pious horror. 

There is not a railroad in the Roman states, 
excepting one about fifteen miles in length, from 
Rome to Frascati. This was commenced sev- 
eral years ago, and has not yet been opened. 
It is called the " Great Central Railroad;" and 
I suppose that the pope fears the day when it 
shall be opened, as much as we should fear the 
small pox or yellow fever. 

Such is the progressive spirit of the true, in- 
fallible church. Every thing that is new is 
feared as an innovation, that endangers the ex- 
isting order of things. It is more to the taste 
of these reverend fathers to be concerned about 
relics, antiquated ruins, and tombstones, than 
to encourage any thing that relates to the com- 
fort or prosperity of the people. 

Did our limits allow, we might speak of the 
condition of Spain, Ireland, Mexico, and other 
Papal countries, as illustrating the influence of 
Romanism upon civil liberty and social prosper- 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 101 

ity. In Spain the Papal authority has reigned 
triumphant for over three hundred years. There 
the reformation, with all its benign influences, 
was crushed ; there the Inquisition was estab- 
lished, and its terrible machinery w r as worked 
without hinderance or opposition. Every thing 
was made to bow to the will of the supreme 
despot at Rome. No heresy, no preacher of 
God's truth, obstructed the progress of Papal 
principles ; and what was the consequence ? 
That once noble, enterprising, learned, high- 
spirited nation was stripped of every thing that 
contributed to its honor, power, and prosperity. 
The Inquisition was a vast infernal machine, 
placed in the very heart of the country. All 
intellectual and moral freedom was crushed; 
the love of philosophy and learning was extin- 
guished ; a race of noble heroes were converted 
into cringing slaves ; bigotry took the place of 
liberality ; cruelty and baseness supplanted 
courage ; industry, commerce, and the arts per- 
ished. Spain, that once occupied a high rank 
among the European nations ; whose sway ex- 
tended over Italy, Germany, and the Nether- 
* lands ; whose colonies were not surpassed by 
those of any other sovereignty, and whose gold 
and silver possessions were so immense, — has 
sadly fallen from her exalted position, and be- 
come the object of the world's contempt. At 
9* 



102 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

this moment the people are suffering from pov- 
erty, ignorance, vice, and anarchy. The priest- 
hood are corrupt and despised ; infidelity has 
swept through all classes of society, and nothing 
can save the nation from the abyss towards 
which it is so rapidly tending but the gospel of 
Jesus Christ. 

"With the miserable condition of the Catholic 
population of Ireland, and with the debasement 
of Mexico and the Catholic nations of South 
America, you are more or less familiar. A son 
of Ireland thus writes respecting his native 
land: " There you find a warm-hearted, gener- 
ous, impulsive people, and, as the world knows, 
capable of the highest improvement ; and what 
is their state ? Go to their holy wells and holy 
places, to their fairs, their villages, and their 
cabins ; and what is their state ? * * * The 
Papal population of Ireland are greater Papists 
than the pope himself, and are under more 
priestly influence than the people of Rome — far 
more ; and what good has Popery done them 
or their island ? The curse of Ireland has been, 
and is now, its Popery. Its lands are fertile, its 
climate is genial, its people are industrious ; 
but the influence of the priest, like the breath 
of the sirocco, has blighted the land, has de- 
based its people, has made them a byword in 
all the lands of their dispersion." 



POPERY AND CIVIL FREEDOM ANTAGONISTIC. 103 

And it may be asked, What are the priests 
doing in this country for the moral welfare of 
their people ? For example, in regard to the 
temperance cause — what have they done to 
deliver the victims of intemperance from the 
power of this vice? On this point the New 
York Tribune says, " We have looked to see 
them uttering some decided and forcible con- 
demnation of that trade in ardent liquors whose 
horrible consequences no part of the clergy can 
have better opportunities of appreciating than 
themselves. We have hoped that they might 
be led to use the authority they have, especially 
among the Irish, for an end so beneficent and so 
necessary ; particularly now that so much odi- 
um is excited against that class of our popula- 
tion, on account of their political subserviency 
and intemperate habits. It would seem that 
the Catholic priesthood ought to spare no effort 
that could tend to put their flocks, or at least so 
numerous a division of them, in another aspect 
before the community at large. 

" This hope does not seem likely to be grati- 
fied. We hear of no movement among the 
Catholic hierarchy for the suppression of this 
deadly and crime-generating traffic. And yet 
there seems to be great occasion for an effort of 
that sort. We published, the other day, a sta- 
tistical paper, showing that a great majority of 



104 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

the murders committed in this state are by- 
Irishmen, and those Irishmen drunk. But why- 
were they drunk, when there is an archbishop 
and priesthood with such powers of moral and 
spiritual control among their flocks ? Why is 
there not a reform ? Why is there not a total 
abstinence association, in place of every rum 
hole kept by an Irish Catholic ? 

" These are not sectarian or untimely ques- 
tions. They touch the vital roots of society. It 
is a fact that the highest crime — murder — in- 
creases. It is a fact that murders are due, ninety 
per cent., to drunkenness. It is a fact that of the 
drunken murderers a large proportion are Irish- 
men. It is a fact that these drunken, murdering 
Irishmen are nearly all Catholics." 

These inquiries ought to be answered ; and 
until they are answered satisfactorily, we must 
hold these priests accountable for the most pal- 
pable neglect of their duty, and an utter disre- 
gard to the interests of morality. 



V. 

THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 

"Now, the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the lat- 
ter TIMES SOME SHALL DEPART FROM THE FAITH, GIVING 
HEED TO SEDUCING SPIRITS AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS, 
SPEAKING LIES IN HYPOCRISY, HAVING THEIR CONSCIENCES , 
SEARED WITH A HOT IRON." — 1 Tim. iv. 1, 2. 

The order of Jesuits arose at a most impor- 
tant crisis in the history of the Romish church. 
The vast superstructure of error, superstition, 
and despotism had received from the gathering 
army of reformers shocks which threatened its 
entire destruction. Bigotry and intolerance 
had gone so far, and heaped up so many ab- 
surdities and burdens, that the reason and com- 
mon sense of Europe were giving way under 
the pressure. Priestly craft and domination 
were losing their hold upon the consciences of 
the people. The spirit of inquiry into the ar- 
rogant claims of popes and cardinals, and into 
the truth of the dogmas of the church, w r as 
every where springing up. Entire nations were 
swinging from their moorings, and bidding 

(105) 



106 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



farewell to Popish authority; were launching 
forth upon the broad ocean of freedom and 
truth. The northern countries of Europe were 
lost beyond the hope of recovery. Germany 
and Switzerland were fast adopting the prin- 
ciples of the reformation. Beneath the sur- 
face of France the fires were working with 
prodigious energy, and were breaking out in 
different parts of the kingdom. Even Spain 
and Italy felt the influence of the mighty move- 
ment which was going forward. Indeed, the 
whole system of Papal authority, venerable for 
its antiquity, associated with the stirring events 
of past ages, sustained by kings, councils, and 
armies, was weakened in every part, and in 
danger of being swept away before the con- 
quering hosts of the reformed church. 

At this crisis, Ignatius Loyola appeared at 
Rome, and laid at the feet of the pope his 
masterly agency for serving the church, and 
arresting the tide of evils which threatened its 
ruin. At first his plan met with little favor 
from the highest dignitaries of the Romish 
church. The cardinals were opposed to it on 
the ground that there were already too many 
religious orders in the church, and that the ad- 
dition of another might be more burdensome 
than serviceable to their interests. But Paul 
III. perceived that Loyola and his companions 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 107 

were just the men that the church needed, in 
the present critical state of her affairs. He 
had the sagacity to discern that they were ar- 
dently devoted to the interests of the Papacy ; 
that they were men of decided purposes, of 
great endurance in the prosecution of difficult 
enterprises, of intellectual discipline, and ac- 
complished in the learning of the times. They 
had already gained a wide reputation for zeal, 
self-denial, and laborious efforts. Accordingly, 
in October, 1540, a bull was issued which gave 
the order an existence, under the name of " the 
Society of Jesus." At first the number of its 
members was restricted to sixty ; but three 
years later this restriction was entirely removed. 
If the biographer of Loyola can be relied 
upon, his history was marked by great self- 
denial, severe hardships, ecstasies, visions, and 
a variety of experience suited to qualify him 
for his work. Contemporary with Luther, there 
were certain points of resemblance between 
the two heroes. Both were men of fixed de- 
termination and indomitable energy. Both 
repudiated a mere ascetic life, and craved ac- 
tivity. Both were trained in the school of ad- 
versity. Both brought to their work all their 
powers of body and mind. But in other re- 
spects, and especially in their aims, they occu- 
pied positions as wide asunder as the heavens 



108 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

and the earth. Loyola clung to the Romish 
church, and depended for strength upon its rites 
and dogmas ; Luther broke the chain that 
bound him to the man of sin, and depended 
for nourishment and power upon the sacred in- 
fluences that come from above. The former 
represented the idea of absolutism ; the latter 
that of freedom. Loyola threw himself at the 
feet of the pope, and acknowledged him master ; 
Luther prostrated himself before God, and laid 
upon his altar the services of his life. Loyola 
bent his mighty energies to the work of check- 
ing the tide of the reformation, rolling back 
its waters, and restoring the ancient church to 
its former position of dignity and power ; Lu- 
ther, by all the force of hi^ piety, learning, and 
iron resolution, strove to increase this tide and 
give to it a resistless energy. 

In another respect, the two men greatly dif- 
fer. In the character of Luther there is a 
unity, symmetry, and singleness of purpose 
that are at all times, and on all occasions, ap- 
parent. Whether he is in public or in private, 
before princes and august councils or in his 
closet, he is the same earnest, devoted, heroic 
servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

But in Loyola two characters appear, bearing 
distinct marks and peculiarities ; so that, in 
following his career, w T e seem to have the his- 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 109 

tory of two persons before us. The facts in the 
case are thus summarily stated by an eloquent 
writer : " A Spanish gentleman of bold bear- 
ing, and who courts every chivalrous distinction, 
is grievously wounded and thrown upon his 
bed, where he endures weeks of anguish and 
months of languor. Spoiled for war and pleas- 
ure by the hurt he has received, and fired in a 
moment by a new ambition, he breaks from his 
home, and sets forward as a Christian fakir, to 
amaze the world by feats of wild humility. 
He undergoes mental paroxysms, sees visions, 
and exists thenceforward in a condition of in- 
tense emotion, resembling, in turns, the ecsta- 
sies of the upper and the agonies of the nether 
world. He dedicates himself, body and soul, to 
the service of the blessed Virgin — the queen of 
angels. He sets out on a preaching pilgrimage 
to convert the Mahometan world, and he con- 
temns all prudence and common sense, in apply- 
ing himself to an enterprise so immensely 
disproportioned to his abilities. 

" But now this same devotee — this unman- 
ageable enthusiast, as he seems, and whose 
cheeks are furrowed with perpetual streams 
of penitence and rapture — - suddenly conceives, 
and brings into operation, a scheme of life and 
a polity, of which nothing more need be said, 
than that it has proved itself to be the most 
10 



110 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



firmly compacted, and the most efficient of any 
which the world has seen. A scheme so bold, as 
to the means of which it avails itself, and so re- 
fined in its modes of dealing with human nature, 
and so elaborate in its framework, and so far- 
reaching in its views and purposes, could not have 
sprung from any but a mind of extraordinary 
compass — a mind self-possessed and tranquil, 
delicate in its perceptions, sure in its intuitions, 
and capable of a wide comprehension of various 
objects. The framer of this spiritual polity, if 
he was not moved by, must have mastered, a 
boundless ambition, and must have known how 
to beseem himself a lamb, while planning noth- 
ing else than the subjugation of the world. 

" If we cannot entirely reconcile these ap- 
parently conflicting characters, we must allow 
that the founder of the order of Jesuits was no 
dreamer or mere enthusiast, but possessed, in a 
most eminent degree, a knowledge of the prin- 
ciples of human nature, and of the springs of 
human action, a power of government, a facul- 
ty for enlisting powerful minds in his service, 
and an executive force for the accomplishment 
of difficult and arduous enterprises." 

The grand aim of Loyola was to obtain a 
complete domination over the minds of men, 
to control their thoughts, feelings, and conduct, 
and to centralize this power in one chief, whose 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. Ill 

will should be law to the whole body. He 
sought to establish telegraphic communication 
with all classes of men and varieties of dis- 
position, from the king upon his throne to the 
most obscure subject ; from the wild enthusiast 
to the calm, cautious plodder ; so that the 
general of the order, through these galvanic 
currents, extending from his office in every 
direction, could shape the destinies of the 
world. And, to an extent unprecedented in 
history, he succeeded. So rapid was the in- 
crease of his society, that, at his death, it num- 
bered one thousand members ; and in the year 
1608, there were enrolled ten thousand five 
hundred and eighty-one members. " It con- 
tinued," says one, " to advance in wealth and 
numbers, spreading itself over all parts of the 
habitable globe, supplying missionaries for the 
heathen, instructors for youth, confessors for 
kings and princes, mercantile associations for 
commerce, spies and informers for government, 
skilful mechanics, wily and determined states- 
men, until, in the middle of the eighteenth 
century, it had reached the height of its power. 
It now stood, a vast tree, its trunk rooted in the 
Vatican, w 7 hile its branches overshadowed the 
earth, and were entwined with all the interests 
of society. Every breeze that stirred them 
shook Europe to its basis, and threatened the 
very existence of her institutions." 



112 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Even the founder of the Jesuits, in his mo- 
ments of most sanguine hopes and wildest 
expectations, could not have dreamed that his 
order would have attained such an eminence 
of power ; that its elements would constitute 
the basis of a system so comprehensive, gigan- 
tic, and far-reaching in its influence and au- 
thority; that it would inspire princes and popes 
with dread, and upon so wide a field stifle the 
breath of freedom, and check the progress of 
truth, humanity, and civilization. 

" We cannot but suppose," says one, " that 
its head was now and then struck with terror 
at the awful energy of the machinery which he 
essayed to guide, as the electrician will at 
times watch, with a solicitude approaching to 
dread, the slumbering power that he has so 
quietly accumulated, in the frail enginery by 
his side." 

While Jesuitism sprang from the Romish 
church, and has devoted to her interests its 
mighty energies, yet it should not be confound- 
ed with Romanism. It commenced, and has 
maintained, a separate existence. 

While it embraces all the principles of Po- 
pery that are at war with freedom and human 
progress, yet it has laws and aims peculiar to 
itself. In many respects it differs from other 
religious orders — from the Augustinians, Fran- 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 113 

ciscans and Dominicans. It does not, like 
these, profess to promote individual piety and 
spiritualism. It seeks rather to govern men 
than to reform them. It acts upon the will 
rather than the affections. It is a vast machine 
for crushing and moulding into one form the 
varied powers of the human soul. It might 
exist as a system even after Romanism had 
perished. Indeed, it has been detached from 
the Romish church, and has been cast off as a 
power too full of danger for even an alliance 
with Popery. 

In examining into the principles of Jesuitism, 
we find the most perfect military discipline run- 
ning through all grades in the society. Loyola 
having been a soldier, and subject to the disci- 
pline of the camp, he carried the spirit into his 
association. The power of every officer over 
those who were under him was complete and 
despotic. Every member took the most solemn 
vow of prompt and implicit obedience to his 
superior. It mattered not what might be the 
nature of the command, or at what time in the 
day or night it was received, or whether it sent 
the member a short distance or to the remotest 
parts of the world ; it was instantly obeyed, At 
the organization of the society, and afterwards 
at the installation of Loyola at Rome, in April, 
1541, as the first general, the vows of poverty, 
h 10* 



114 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

chastity, and obedience were taken by all the 
members. 

Nor was this obedience confined simply to a 
rigid discharge of all prescribed duties. It re- 
lated to the whole conduct at all times and un- 
der all circumstances — to the employment of 
every hour, and even to the thoughts and pur- 
poses of the mind. The Jesuit literally offered 
himself up, soul and body, to his superior, to be 
a passive instrument for the execution of his 
decrees. He was carried through a process of 
training that broke him down to the perform- 
ance of the most servile, tedious, and self-deny- 
ing offices. Loyola himself set an example of 
humility to the members, by performing in the 
kitchen and elsewhere menial duties. Indeed, 
both by example and precept, by the most rigid 
rules and exacting requisitions, he sought to in- 
fuse his spirit and will throughout every rank 
in his society. And his system, says a late his- 
torian, " developed human devotedness to its 
extremest capacity, and made of the most ab- 
solute obedience a lever, the incessant and ever- 
present activity of which must necessarily take 
the place of every other species of power." 

An order thus trained and disciplined could 
not fail to possess a mighty efficiency. Wher- 
ever it was brought to bear, whether upon the 
thrones of princes, or the interests of education, 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 115 

or the institutions of society, or the principles 
of the reformation, it was certain to produce 
marked effects. Its blighting and tyrannical in- 
fluence was as perceptible as the marks of a 
fearful conflagration, that has swept through a 
village or a densely-crowded city. 

The Jesuit, in order to be entirely untrammel- 
led in his movements, was exempt from many of 
the austerities and devotions which the church 
so rigidly requires of its ordinary members. If 
these austerities, fastings, and self-tortures were 
needed to fit him for his work, they were im- 
posed with terrible exactness. But if they 
interfered in any way with the prompt fulfil- 
ment of his mission, they were strictly forbidden. 

Through the confessional, also, the power of 
a superior over the members was greatly aug- 
mented. Each member was required to reveal 
to the confessor his most secret thoughts, not 
only upon spiritual themes, but upon every sub- 
ject that entered the mind. Nothing was to be 
withheld, however secret, or however connected 
with the most private feelings and emotions. 

Besides, says an able writer, " That escape 
from inspection might be impossible, that dis- 
guise might be precluded, and that the whole 
society might be fused into a common mass of 
cooperating and harmonious minds, each man 
was set as a spy over his fellow ; every look 



116 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

and smile, and even the lifting of the eyelids, 
was to be accounted for. Loneliness and in- 
dividuality were impossible, or rather they were 
absorbed and overborne, by the force of an om- 
nipotent and omnipresent organization. If one 
was sent on secret errands, or despatched upon 
a delicate or difficult service, he might lay aside 
the dress of the order, and assume any disguise, 
however unseemly. 

" The Jesuit could perform priestly duties in 
any diocese or cure. He might, at any moment, 
take the place of any ecclesiastic to any man 
or woman. He could preach, confess, or ab- 
solve, whenever it might seem expedient. Even 
the highest and most awful function of the 
sovereign pontiff* — that of granting dispensa- 
tion from religious duties, from the most sacred 
moral obligations, and the plain commands of 
God — was delegated to the general, that con- 
science need interpose neither scruple nor de- 
lay to the execution of any measure, or to the 
prompt efficiency of the instrument in his 
hands." 

The system of the Jesuits is as thorough a 
despotism as could be framed. It is a sort of 
double despotism, acting with fearful power 
upon its own members within, and upon the 
world without. It seizes and holds within its 
iron grasp all the faculties of the intellect, and 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 117 

the affections and powers of the soul. To the 
Jesuit, his system is his politics, his religion, 
his social life, his all. His freedom of will is 
taken from him and absorbed by it. Created 
in the image of the Almighty, — with moral 
obligations of the most sacred character, — with 
responsibilities resting upon him weighty as 
eternity, — he becomes a mere tool in the hands 
of another. If conscience stands in the way 
of his work, that conscience must be broken 
down and trampled under foot. If the laws 
of God or the claims of humanity intervene, 
those laws and claims must be treated as 
though they had no existence. Indeed, the 
general of the order was in the place of God 
to the Jesuit. He recognized no other Deity. 

As an outward force, this system was the 
very essence of tyranny. It was a cold, heart- 
less, relentless tyrant. It strangled in the birth 
every movement for liberty in Europe. It 
crushed every interest that opposed its progress. 
It set princes against princes, and kingdom 
against kingdom, involving empires in a net- 
work of difficulties, from which the most skil- 
ful diplomacy could not extricate them. By its 
secret machinery it could spring upon an ob- 
noxious king, or bishop, a force of opposition 
that would either break down his power, or 
bring him to its terms. It went to its object 



118 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

with the directness and precision of a cannon 
shot, shattering in pieces every thing that was 
in its .path. Jesuitism allied itself to the 
sternest despotisms of Europe, and uniformly 
acted with them and for them. It was to these 
despotisms, what the principle of moral evil is 
to the kingdom of Satan. It nourished them. 
It protected them from outward dangers and 
from internal dissensions. It hushed the faint- 
est whisper of freedom within their domains. 
It was as a wall of adamant around the throne 
of every tyrant. It took the place of spies, ar- 
mies, prisons, chains, — all the machinery and 
instruments of despotism. Even the Russian 
government, with all its bitter hostility to the 
Romish church, yet called to its aid the Jesuits. 

The popes relied upon them in every emer- 
gency, and they were ever ready to sustain the 
cause of absolutism — knowing that its inter- 
ests were identical with their own. 

I would pass, in the next place, to consider the 
progress of Jesuitism in the different countries 
where it gained a footing. From the beginning, 
it met with great success in Spain and Portugal. 
In these kingdoms, where there seemed to be but 
little need of such an organization to root out 
heresy, the order advanced with great rapidity. 
Houses and colleges were every where estab- 
lished. 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 119 

In France, however, the society met with a 
strong opposition from the government, the 
regular clergy, and the universities. But, re-' 
solved on success, they used every means in 
their power to gain an influence, and at last 
became established, and exerted their power to 
crush the Huguenots, and destroy all true re- 
ligious faith. 

In many parts of Germany, they were hailed 
as powerful auxiliaries to those who were la- 
boring to stop the tide of the glorious reforma- 
tion. The fame of their devotion, discipline, 
and exploits having gone abroad, they were 
sent for from Hungary, Poland, Silesia, and 
were encouraged to establish colleges in Italy, 
Germany, England, Switzerland, and other 
countries. From Rome its teachers went forth 
to poison the minds of the youth throughout 
Europe. In 1557, the society numbered " among 
its scholastics Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, 
French, Greeks, Illyrians, Belgians, Scotch, and 
Hungarians." 

. In Poland, the influence of these foes of God 
and man was fearfully disastrous. That coun- 
try had become so extensively imbued with 
Protestant principles, that " its nobility could 
have elected a Protestant king. What is worth 
recording is, that it gave to Europe the first ex- 
ample of religious toleration, and this centuries 



120 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

ago. But the Jesuits were soon in the field. 
They established colleges at Cracow, Grodno, 
and Pultusk. They took possession, to a great 
extent, of the nobility. The college at Pultusk 
contained four hundred pupils, all nobles. In 
Poland proper, says one of their number, ' hun- 
dreds of learned, orthodox, and devout men of 
the order are employed in rooting out errors 
and implanting Catholic piety, by schools and 
associations, by preaching and writing.' " 

The principles and achievements of this re- 
markable order are forcibly and eloquently de- 
scribed by Macaulay, in the following language : 
" With what vehemence, with what policy, with 
what exact discipline, with what dauntless 
courage, * * * with what intense and stub- 
born devotion to a single end, with what un- 
scrupulous laxity and versatility in the choice 
of means, the Jesuits fought the battles of their 
church, is written in every page of the annals of 
Europe, during several generations. * * * 
The order possessed itself at once of all the 
strongholds which command the public mind — 
of the pulpit, the press, the confessional, and 
the academies. Wherever the Jesuit preached 
the church was too small for the audience. The 
name of Jesuit on a title page secured the cir- 
culation of a book. It was in the ears of the 
Jesuit that the powerful, the noble, and the 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 121 

beautiful breathed the secret history of their 
lives. It was at the feet of the Jesuit that the 
youth of the higher and middle classes were 
brought up from the first rudiments to the 
courses of rhetoric and philosophy. * * * 
Nor was it less their office to plot against the 
thrones and lives of apostate kings, to spread 
evil rumors, to raise tumults, to inflame civil 
wars, to arm the hand of the assassin. Inflex- 
ible in nothing but in their fidelity to the 
church, they were equally ready to appeal in 
her cause to the spirit of loyalty and to the 
spirit of freedom. Extreme doctrines of obe- 
dience and extreme doctrines of liberty — the 
rights of rulers to misgovern the people, the 
right of every one of the people to plunge his 
knife in the heart of a bad ruler — were incul- 
cated by the same man, according as he ad- 
dressed himself to the subject of Philip or the 
subject of Elizabeth. * * * 

" The old world was not wide enough for 
this strange activity. The Jesuits invaded all 
the countries which the great maritime discov- 
eries of the preceding age had laid open to 
European enterprise. In the depths of the Pe- 
ruvian mines, at the marts of the African slave 
caravans, on the shores of the Spice Islands, in 
the observatories of China, they were to be 
found. They made converts in regions which 
11 



122 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



neither avarice nor curiosity had tempted any 
of their countrymen to enter, and preached 
and disputed in tongues of which no other na- 
tive of the west understood a word." 

We may judge of the immense power of 
this institution in 1762, when we are informed 
that at that period there were two hundred and 
forty-nine houses for the professed, six hun- 
dred and ninety-nine colleges, one hundred and 
seventy-six seminaries, three hundred and thirty- 
five residences, two hundred and twenty-three 
missionaries, and twenty-two thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-seven Jesuits, of whom 
eleven thousand and ten were priests. Nor 
can we wonder, with such a wide-spread, ef- 
ficient, compact organization, that the glori- 
ous reformation was arrested in Poland, Aus- 
tria, Hungary, Bohemia, and a portion of Ger- 
many and Switzerland — that the noble Hu- 
guenots were driven from France, and that 
the spirit of inquiry was stifled in Italy and 
Spain. We cannot wonder that Italy, the seat 
of genius and the arts, the mother of nations, — 
Italy, so rich in historic associations and 
classic lore, was reduced to ignorance and beg- 
gary — that Spain was hurled from her lofty 
eminence of power and fame, despoiled of her 
enterprise and genius, robbed of her vast colo- 
nies, and made the slave of bigotry and super- 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 123 

stition. But the Jesuits did not plunder this 
noble nation of every thing — they left them 
one institution, and that was the Inquisition ! 

But this vast enginery, that had rendered 
such valuable services to the ecclesiastical and 
political despots of Europe, began to be feared 
as much as it had been courted. The tyrants 
who had used it saw that it was only necessary 
for the leaders to turn the wheels in another 
direction, and that which had so promptly and 
efficiently aided them might crush them. So- 
ciety, also, became at first excited, and after- 
wards enraged against them. The principles 
that they advocated were so subversive of all 
order, confidence, safety, and happiness, — their 
deeds were so atrocious, — that every where bit- 
ter enemies arose against them. Pascal, in his 
powerful, keen, and convincing provincial let- 
ters, inflicted upon the order a blow, from the 
effects of which it has never recovered. He 
exposed their infamous doctrines upon mo- 
rality, loyalty, and the manner of exercising 
love towards God, quoting from their standard 
authors, and presenting an argument that could 
not be refuted. 

The following are specimens of the opinions 
and doctrines which Pascal adduced : One Jes- 
uit says, " A doctor of theology may give ad- 
vice contrary to his own opinion, if it is held 



124 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

probable by others, when this advice is more 
agreeable to him who consults him ; nay, even 
when he is assured that it is absolutely false." 
Another, Sanchez, says, in regard to duelling, 
that it is reasonable to fight a duel ; but he ad- 
vises, as the better way, for one to slay his en- 
emy secretly. 

The doctrine of mental reservation is a very 
favorite one with these men. The writer just 
referred to says, " A man may swear that he 
has not done a thing which he has done, by un- 
derstanding within himself that he has not 
done it on such a day, or before he was born, 
as this is often convenient, and always very 
just, when it is necessary or useful for his 
health, honor, or property." 

Escopar says, " Promises oblige not when 
we have no intention to oblige ourselves in 
making them;" and thus with Molina, Lip- 
sius, and others, who confound all distinctions 
of right and wrong, and labor to break down 
the whole system of morality and virtue. 

With regard to the duty of loving God, their 
atrocious opinions almost stagger our belief. 
" Suarez says, that it is enough that we love 
him before the moment of death, without de- 
termining any time ; Vasquaez, that it is suffi- 
cient at the moment of death ; others, when we 
receive baptism ; others, when we are obliged 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 



125 



to be contrite; others, on festival days." One 
says, that it is sufficient to love God once in a 
year ; another says, once in five years, &c. 

So completely did these sentiments outrage 
the common sense and moral feelings of soci- 
ety, that every one in whom a spark of con- 
science remained, felt that the order ought to 
be crushed. And this feeling was increased by 
the abundant evidence, which the Jesuits every 
day furnished, that they were governed by these 
pernicious principles. Accordingly, in 1759, 
having been accused of the assassination of the 
King of Portugal, they w T ere banished from that 
kingdom. In France the order was abolished 
by the Parliament, in 1762. The reasons as- 
signed for their suppression were the following : 
" The consequences of their doctrines destroy 
the law of nature. They break all the bonds 
of civil society, by authorizing theft, lying, per- 
jury, the utmost licentiousness, murder, and all 
manner of sins. These doctrines, moreover, 
root out all sentiments of humanity, overthrow 
all governments, excite rebellion, and uproot 
the foundation and practice of religion. And 
they substitute all sorts of superstitions, irre- 
ligion, blasphemy, and idolatry." 

Even in Spain the order could not be tol- 
erated. For on the night of the 31st of March, 
1767, the troops surrounded the six Jesuit col- 
li* 



126 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



leges in Madrid, and hurried away the fathers 
to Carthagena. Subsequently the other col- 
leges in the kingdom were dealt with in a sim- 
ilar manner. At last, in 1773, the infamous 
and hated order was abolished by Pope Clem- 
ent XIV. Their property was confiscated, and 
the wretches were banished. The pope de- 
clared, " It will cost me my life ; but I must 
abolish this dangerous order." Nor was he 
mistaken ; for in a few days he was poisoned ; 
and on his dying bed he remarked, " I am going 
to eternity, and I know for what." 

But the order, though abolished, was not an- 
nihilated. The members kept up a secret or- 
ganization. For many years their general re- 
sided at Rome, and, in 1814, Pope Pius VII., 
feeling the need of their despotic power to sus- 
tain the Papacy, restored the order, and con- 
ferred upon them the highest privileges and 
prerogatives. In his bull he annulled the acts 
of Clement XIV., and declared that his own 
was " above the recall or revision of any judge, 
with whatever power he may be clothed." 
Thus he annihilated the infallibility of Clem- 
ent, but wishes to protect his own against all 
the authorities and governments of the earth. 

Since the revival of Jesuitism, and its pro- 
tection by the pope, the members of the order 
have been active throughout Christendom in 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 127 

sowing the seeds of dissension, plotting against 
governments, and undermining the liberties of 
mankind. In Belgium, France, Italy, Great 
Britain, and in every Papal and Protestant 
country in Europe, they have been at work. 
But their great hope is in extending their influ- 
ence over America, and thus gaining here what 
they have lost in the older countries. They 
profess to feel a great interest in our nation 
and in our republican institutions — the same 
kind of interest, doubtless, that Satan felt in 
the prosperity of Paradise — the same that a 
pirate feels in watching the noble ship that is 
under full sail, and laden with costly treasures. 
They offer to educate our children, and for this 
purpose they have established schools, semina- 
ries, and colleges at the west and south. 

" In 1790, there were but about forty priests 
in this country, and the system of Romanism 
had but few open adherents and advocates 
among us. The then existing public sentiment 
in regard to those European organizations, civil, 
political, and religious, from whose oppressive 
power the people had but recently escaped, of- 
fered but little encouragement to the hopes of 
Papal propagandists. The Jesuit, however, was 
here, and covertly engaged in his evil work. 

" In 1808, the organized force of Romanism 
in the United States comprised one diocese, 



128 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



two bishops, sixty-eight priests, eighty churches, 
two ecclesiastical institutions, one college, and 
two female academies. 

" In 1834, the Jesuits had nine ecclesiastical 
institutions, six colleges, and twenty female 
academies. 

" This year, [1854,] they have in the United 
States twenty incorporated colleges, with two 
thousand two hundred and forty-seven students, 
twenty-nine theological seminaries, with up- 
wards of four hundred students, and one hun- 
dred and twelve female academies. 

" The total accession of priests for the year 
ending with the beginning of 1854 was up- 
wards of two hundred and fifty-six. 

" In commenting on their growth in the 
United States, the publishers of the ' Metropol- 
itan Catholic Almanac and Laity's Directory' 
say, ' From 1834 to 1844 the personal and ma- 
terial force of the church in the United States 
increased at the rate of about one hundred per 
cent. — the number of dioceses, bishops, priests, 
churches, seminaries, colleges, and female acad- 
emies having about doubled during that period. 
During the last ten years — from 1844 to 1854 — 
nearly the same ratio is observable, except in the 
number of churches and priests ; .in these de- 
partments the ratio of increase has been about 
one hundred and seventy per cent.' " 



THE ORDER OF JESUITS. 129 

At the south and west, even Protestants have 
more or less encouraged these Jesuit teachers, 
by their influence or their patronage. As one 
• among many instances, I would cite the follow- 
ing : " A few years since, at the commencement 
of the Jesuit college at Georgetown, in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, a dinner, as usual, was given 
in honor of the college. The archbishop of the 
Roman Catholic church in the United States was 
there, in his official robes, and also several dis- 
tinguished Protestants were present. The arch- 
bishop, and Mr. Mulledy, the president of the 
college, made speeches on the occasion. So 
also did Mr. George Washington P. Custis, Mr. 
Seaton, editor of the ' Intelligencer,' and Ma- 
jor General Macomb, at that time commander- 
in-chief of the American army. 

" Mr. Seaton not only made a speech, but 
gave a toast in honor of the Jesuits, as an or- 
der of men devoted for three centuries to re- 
ligion and learning. General Macomb gave 
the following toast: i The health of the pope, 
and prosperity to the Catholic religion.' " 

Many of the Jesuits connected with schools 
and seminaries advertise that the religion of 
the pupils will not be interfered with ; and yet 
the most artful and persevering measures will 
be adopted, to bring the children of Protestant 
parents into the Catholic church. The follow- 



130 ROMANISM IX AMERICA. 

ing facts were stated by a gentleman of un- 
questionable veracity. u He said that he was 
acquainted with two families who sent their 
daughters to a Roman Catholic seminary. The 
fathers are highly respectable men, and officers 
in Protestant churches. The daughters having 
completed their course of instruction at the 
seminary, and returned to their fathers' house, 
the parents anticipated a great increase of 
pleasure in their mental improvement. You 
can imagine their surprise and horror, when 
the daughters told them that they had joined 
the Catholic church. So complete was their 
apostasy from the true faith, that they would 
not even attend family prayers — saying, that it 
was not right to hear heretics pray." 

Many facts, of a similar character, might be 
stated, showing particularly the influence of 
these institutions in our Western States. Prot- 
estants cannot be too much on their guard 
against these schools, nor can they labor too 
zealously to plant institutions of learning, that 
will be in accordance with the genius of our 
civil government, and the principles of our re- 
ligious faith. 



VI. 



THE PAGANISM OF POPERY. 

" Upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Bab- 
ylon THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMI- 
NATIONS OF THE EARTH." — Rev. XVii. 5. 

In the preceding pages we have shown how 
utterly incompatible are the claims of Roman- 
ism with the principles and spirit of Chris- 
tianity. We have proved that many of its 
fundamental doctrines are directly at variance 
with the teachings of the Bible — that tradition 
and the decrees of councils are of higher au- 
thority among its advocates than the word of 
God — that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the 
very last thing with which its ministers have to 
do — and that the whole system is a master- 
piece of superstition and cruelty, for enslaving 
the mind, deadening the conscience, and grati- 
fying the ambition, lust, and avarice of its 
leaders. 

We are now prepared to show the striking 
resemblance that exists between Romanism 
and paganism — a resemblance which warrants 

(131) 



132 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

us in giving to the Romish system the title of 
a baptized paganism. 

After the conversion of Constantine, Chris- 
tianity became the established religion of the 
Roman empire ; and, as laws were passed re- 
quiring that all who would obtain public offices, 
or serve in the army, must profess the Christian 
faith, multitudes of pagans at once, from mer- 
cenary motives, entered the church. Hav- 
ing been educated in the rites and doctrines 
of the pagan religion, no change was wrought 
in their feelings and views, only in their profes- 
sions. And as vast numbers poured into the 
Christian church, in every part of the empire, 
directly from their heathen temples and idola- 
trous worship, they naturally carried with them 
not only the spirit of paganism, but many of 
their customs, rites, and even their idols. Had 
the true church at that time been powerful, it 
would have been a very difficult task to have 
purified and trained for the service of Christ 
this mass of pagan mind. But it should be 
remembered that the church was itself weak, 
and there was more probability that the pagan 
element would work into and corrupt the Chris- 
tianity that existed, than that the Christian el- 
ement would subdue and destroy the paganism. 
Besides, the very prosperity that so suddenly 
burst upon the Christians, under Constantine, 



THE PAGANISM OF POPERY. 133 

after the long nights of sorrow and persecution 
through which they had passed, was calculated 
to peril their faith. Under ordinary circum- 
stances, it is very difficult for a church to 
maintain a high state of spirituality and de- 
votion, in the midst of great worldly prosper- 
ity. But here was a company of disciples 
who had known little else than hardships. 
They had been hunted from city to city, and 
from one hiding-place to another — had been 
banished — had their property confiscated — 
seen their brethren imprisoned, scourged, and 
slaughtered by thousands — and had assembled 
for the worship of God at the peril of their 
lives, — and now, all at once, they are pro- 
tected, favored, admitted to posts of honor and 
distinction. Their religion becomes the na- 
tional religion. It exists by authority, is de- 
fended by powerful armies, and enjoined upon 
all faithful subjects. The change is so sudden 
and so great, that it cannot fail to be disastrous 
to the interests of vital piety. Besides, while 
we hope that the conversion of Constantine 
was genuine, yet he was far from governing his 
life according to the rigid precepts of the gos- 
pel. He was guilty of many sins, which it 
would require more than the skill of Papal 
logic to reconcile with a pure Christian charac- 
ter. He may have been influenced, in part at 
12 



134 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



least, by worldly motives, and have thought 
that Christianity, as an element of national 
power, possessed more efficiency than idolatry, 
and would strengthen the laws, and secure 
greater obedience than paganism. It is cer- 
tain, that at that period the Roman character 
had sadly degenerated. The stern virtues, fidel- 
ity, and heroism of the old Romans had given 
place to vices, shameful profligacy, weakness, 
and cruelty. The intelligent classes were losing 
their reverence for the superstitions and rites of 
paganism. On the other hand, the honesty, 
firmness, and noble characteristics of the Chris- 
tians were attracting public attention, and the 
sagacity of Constantine may have discovered 
that there was a power in the Christian religion 
which he could use to immense advantage. 
As evidence that his views of Christian humil- 
ity and self-sacrifice did not accord with those 
of the primitive disciples, we are informed that 
M he gave to the clergy the former privileges of 
the pagan priests, and allowed legacies to be 
left to the churches, which were every where 
erected and enlarged. He was gratified with 
seeing the bishops assume great state ; for he 
thought, the more respect the bishops com- 
manded, the more inclined the pagans would 
be to embrace Christianity; and thus he intro- 
duced the love of pomp and display among the 
clergy." 



THE PAGANISM OF POPERY. 135 

While some of the heathen temples were de- 
stroyed by the emperor, others were retained ; 
and the images of the heathen gods, in several in- 
stances, were, by a sort of baptism, converted into 
the statues of the apostles and eminent saints. 

In tracing the resemblance between Popery 
and paganism, I would in the first place prove 
the truth of this statement, in regard to temples 
and images. 

A distinguished Christian traveller gives the 
following account of his visit to the Church of 
St. Paul, in Naples — a city where the sur- 
passing beauty and magnificence of the scenery 
present a striking contrast to the wretchedness 
and degradation of the people : — 

" During the morning, I made a visit to the 
Church of St. Paul, major, which is one of the 
sights of this beautifully-located, but misgov- 
erned and priest-ridden city. This is really the 
old temple of Castor and Pollux transformed 
into a church. There stand the old pillars of 
the heathen temple ; there, before the door, is 
the statue of a heathen god converted into a 
statue of St. Paul; on either side of the great 
door, and over it, are left remaining the pictures 
of the heathen priests offering sacrifices ; and 
all over the interior of the building are the rep- 
resentations of heathen mythology, mixed up 
with the myths and superstitions of Popery. 



136 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Priests, in their robes, were mumbling mass at 
its altars ; women and beggars were kneeling 
before the altars, and gazing around, or were 
troubling you for alms at every turn. And to 
a person at all acquainted with heathen mythol- 
ogy, Roman antiquities, and with the manner 
of the worship of the old Italians, the concep- 
tion, on entering the church, would be neither 
violent nor unnatural, that he was in a heathen 
temple, whose altars were surrounded 4 by hea- 
then priests, upon which they were offering their 
unmeaning sacrifices." 

On entering St. Peter's Church, at Rome, 
you observe a bronze statue of this apostle, the 
toe of which has been worn away by the kisses 
of the faithful. How many of the vast multi- 
tudes who have thus honored this image, do 
you think, were aware that it once represented 
Jupiter, and that heathen priests burnt incense 
before it, and worshipped it as their God ? An 
Englishman, in passing this image, raised his 
hat to it, not as St. Peter, but as Jupiter, and 
requested him, should he ever regain his power, 
to reward the only individual who ever bowed 
to him in his adversity ! At stated periods, the 
pope and his cardinals approach it with great 
pomp and splendor, and render to it a far more 
profound worship than the ancient Romans 
ever paid to Jupiter. 



THE PAGANISM OP POPERY. 137 

The Pantheon, at Rome, — one of the most 
magnificent and celebrated monuments of an- 
tiquity, ■ — was built by Agrippa, and dedicated 
to Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and, as its name indi- 
cates, to all the gods. When a nation was 
conquered by the Romans, some of their gods 
were sent, and placed in this edifice, that the 
inhabitants, on visiting Rome, might recognize 
and worship the images before which they were 
accustomed to bow. This heathen temple was 
by Pope Boniface IV., in 607, converted into 
a church, and dedicated, not to the worship of 
the true God, but to the Virgin Mary, and to 
all the saints in the Romish calendar. None 
of the images were removed, but Venus was 
transformed into Mary, and Jupiter, Mars, &c, 
into Christian saints. These statues of heathen 
deities were passed off upon the people as the 
images of the most eminent disciples of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And now, persons may be 
seen in the Pantheon, worshipping their favor- 
ite saints, as the pagans formerly worshipped 
their favorite deities. 

The Romanists also equal, and in some re- 
spects surpass, the pagans in the number and 
variety of their gods, or objects of worship. 
According to St. Augustine, there were over 
twenty thousand pagan deities ; but according 
to the Papal martyrology, there are a hun- 
12* 



138 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

dred thousand saints, or, as we might call them, ! 
deities, that are worshipped by the deluded 
victims of Romanism. 

The pagans had their distinct classes of gods, 
who presided over nations, towns, temples, and 
rural districts. Belus was the god of the Bab- 
ylonians, Isis and Osiris of the Egyptians, &c. 
So among the Romanists, St. Stephen is the 
patron of Hungary, St. Louis of France, St. 
Patrick of Ireland. 

Among the ancient towns, Carthage was 
presided over by Juno, Athens by Minerva ; so 
under Romanism, Naples has its St. Janua- 
rius, Bologna has its St. Petronio. 

The pagans had a deity for almost every 
altar and temple — deities to preside over 
woods, pathways, and gardens. So have the 
Romanists. 

And in regard to the qualifications for canon- 
ization, the latter have not improved upon the 
former. If we are ready to condemn the 
grounds upon which the pagan deities are 
made to claim the reverence of the people, 
much more ought we to condemn the course 
pursued by the Papal church. For in this 
church not only virtues and humanity, but 
vices and cruelty, have been regarded as quali- 
fications for saintship. Among other saints, 
we might mention Gregory VIL, who, by Car- 



THE PAGANISM OF POPERY. 139 

dinal Bemo, was charged with being guilty of 
almost every crime. He obtained the Papacy 
by force and bribery, and his career was marked 
by the greatest cruelty, and by acts of treason, 
murder, and adultery. The Councils of "Worms 
and Brescia did not hesitate to pronounce him 
guilty of usurpation, apostasy, treason, fornica- 
tion, and perjury. And yet this vile and cruel 
pontiff is held up as a saint, to be worshipped 
by the faithful. 

Pius V. is another saint of the same stamp. 
We are informed that he was canonized, as a 
reward for his cruelty towards the enemies of 
the Papacy, that is, the friends of vital religion. 
The only piety about him was in his name. 
Among the inquisitors he stood preeminent for 
his atrocious cruelty. He caused to be built 
the inquisitorial dungeons, at Rome, which 
were literally hells upon earth. The sufferings 
of hundreds of tortured victims bore witness to 
his villany. And for this he is constituted a 
saint. 

How much the Romanist has improved upon 
the pagan, in his deities, you can judge. If I 
were to have my choice, I should prefer Jupiter, 
Ceres, Neptune, and even Vulcan, and Mars, 
as objects of worship, to these Romish saints. 
- The resemblance between Popery and pagan- 
ism in regard to their priesthood is also very 



140 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



striking. In ancient Rome the priests were 
very numerous, and possessed immense power 
over all classes in society. Their chief was 
called Pontifex Maximus, or sovereign pontiff. 
He was the acknowledged head of the national 
religion, and decided all questions relative to 
the discipline, rites, and ceremonies of the pa- 
gan faith. He lived in the splendor and lux- 
ury of a prince, levied taxes upon the people, 
could hinder any person from leaving the city 
without his permission, and required the most 
profound homage from all classes. No one 
could approach him without kissing his feet. 
He usually wore a gorgeous robe, and appeared 
in public with great pomp, and attended by a 
long and imposing procession of various orders 
of priests. Indeed, we need only to describe to 
you the Pontifex Maximus of the ancient Ro- 
mans, and the same picture will present before 
you the present Pope of Rome. In justice, 
however, to the pagan pontiff, we would state 
that the resemblance between the two does not 
hold in every point. While the pagan sover- 
eign and his college had the power of life and 
death, his decision could be reversed by the 
people. But under his holiness the pope, the 
oppressed people have no such power to reverse 
his decisions. If he decrees that a patriot, or 
a believer in vital godliness, shall be imprisoned, 



PAGANISM OF POPERY. 141 

driven into exile, or destroyed, the decree is 
final. Nor did the pagan sovereign find it 
necessary to be constantly surrounded with a 
body of Swiss guards, and to call in French 
and other foreign soldiers, to help him take 
care of the religious affairs of the nation. 

In another point, also, we would not claim 
a resemblance. In ancient times, the Pontifex 
Maximus was not permitted to leave Italy. 
To-day the infallible Pius IX. is not only at 
liberty to leave Italy, but the people would be 
very thankful to have him leave, never to re- 
turn. 

The various classes of priests and religious 
orders in the Romish church have their counter- 
part among the pagans. The cardinals of the 
pope correspond with the flamines of the pa- 
gans, who wore a purple robe and a conical 
cap. Instead of the colleges of augurs, the 
Roman church has its convents of friars. In- 
stead of Vestal virgins, whose duty it was to 
worship Vesta, and keep a fire constantly burn- 
ing in her sanctuary, we find here nuns, whose 
duty it is to worship the Virgin Mary. Both 
orders had peculiar privileges, and wore gar- 
ments that distinguished them from other fe- 
males. 

There were also orders of brothers among 
the pagans, whose places are taken by the 



142 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



monks, the Franciscans and Dominicans. For 
the Jesuits of the Romish church, it is hard to 
find a parallel order among the priests or dei- 
ties of the pagans. Their cunning, duplicity, 
cruelty, and iniquity it is difficult to match, 
even among the victims of pagan superstition. 
The nearest approximation to them is found 
in the monsters called " Harpies,'' who lived in 
the vicinity of the Furies, and are represented 
as having the faces of virgins, the bodies of 
vultures, and their feet and hands armed with 
claws. These creatures might, if any could, do 
the work of the Jesuits among the pagans. 

In regard to the persecuting spirit of Roman- 
ism, the* resemblance is very striking. The 
pagan emperors, who so bitterly persecuted 
the early Christians, have a long line of, not 
illustrious, but infamous successors among the 
popes of the church. For the bloody Nero, we 
find, in the chair of St. Peter, Gregory VII. 
For Domitian and Diocletian, the Romanists 
have Boniface VII., Pius V., and others of a 
kindred spirit. If the pagan emperors were 
cruel, bloodthirsty, and relentless towards the 
victims of their wrath, so were these popes. 
It is estimated that in the persecutions under 
the Emperor Diocletian, forty thousand Chris- 
tians suffered martyrdom ; but the infallible 
Innocent III. advanced greatly on this, for he 



PAGANISM OF POPERY. 143 

caused the destruction of one hundred thousand 
Christians in a single day. 

Nero took special delight in witnessing the 
tortures of his victims, in seeing them torn by- 
wild beasts, and writhing in agony while the 
flames were spreading around them ; but his 
gratification could not have been more intense 
than that of Pope Pius V. on gazing upon the 
sufferings of those who fell into the hell of his 
inquisitorial dungeons. Nero and his holiness 
could have met as fellow-fiends, with similar 
tastes and desires. They could have drank 
from the same cup of blood, and feasted their 
eyes upon the same writhing, dying victims. 
We read of the cruelties under the Emperors 
Trajan, Severus, Decius, Valerian, and others ; 
but the popes Alexander, Clement, Lucius, and 
Martin equalled, and, in some respects, sur- 
passed them. Between the cruelties of the 
two systems there is probably little to choose. 
"We think, however, were we forced to make a 
choice, we should prefer to encounter the wild 
beasts in an old Roman amphitheatre, to the 
infernal machinery of a Romish Inquisition. 
The beasts would at least make shorter work 
of it than the officers of the Inquisition. 

But we hasten to speak of the points of re- 
semblance in the doctrines and rites of the two 
systems. 



144 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



In the first place, the idea of purgatory is 
derived from the pagans. Plato, in his philos- j 
ophy, develops the theory four hundred years 
before the Christian era. Like the Romanist, 
he divided men into three classes — the good, 
who at death were at once admitted to the 
regions of blessedness; the bad, whose crimes 
doomed them to endless torment in Tartarus;; 
and a third class, between the other two, who 
were guilty of only slight offences. These,, 
after having been purified in purgatory, were 
supposed to be released and admitted to a 
state of endless happiness. The Grecian phi- 
losopher presents this theory adorned with all 
the beauties of an elegant style and glowing 
imagery. Cicero and Virgil also adopt the 
fiction, and represent the spirits of the departed 
as making expiation for their sins in regions 
between Tartarus and Elysium. 

This superstition, therefore, of the Papist is 
no new discovery. It existed, as a prominent 
element of paganism, nearly a thousand years 
before it was adopted by Popery. Every reader 
of the ancient classics is familiar with Charon 
and his boat, and the River Styx and Acheron, 
over which he carried the souls of the departed. 
But the Romanist has improved upon this sys- 
tem in one particular. The pagan had a small 
piece of money deposited to defray the expenses 



PAGANISM OF POPERY. 



145 



of the passage across the River Styx. Those 
who did not pay, and were not honored with 
funeral rites, were compelled to wander on the 
shore for a hundred years before they could be 
transported. But instead of an obolus, or small 
piece of money, the Romanist must pay, if he is 
wealthy, thousands of dollars for the release of 
his soul. To say the least, the pagan system is 
decidedly the more economical of the two. 

The use of holy water is also a pagan as 
well as Romish rite. In both systems it is re- 
garded as possessing great efficacy. On enter- 
ing a Romish church, you may observe a stone 
basin containing water, into which the faithful 
dip their fingers and cross themselves. The 
process by which the holy element is imparted 
to the water, and the uses to which it is applied, 
are supremely ridiculous. After being prepared 
by the priest, by making signs and breathing 
upon it, and casting into it a little fine powder, 
it is used for a great variety of purposes. It is 
sprinkled upon houses, furniture, horses, mules, 
dogs, and sheep ; upon the clothes of the living 
and the coffins of the dead. It is supposed to 
bless every thing that it touches. The ignorant 
and superstitious are taught to believe that this 
water purifies the atmosphere, heals diseases, 
drives away evil thoughts, gives strength to 
resist temptation, expels Satan and wicked 
' 13 



146 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



spirits from the house, and secures the presence 
of the Holy Ghost. 

In Rome, on a certain day, the horses and 
mules of the city and surrounding country are 
gayly decorated, and brought before the Church 
of St. Anthony, to be sprinkled with holy water 
by the priest. A small sum is paid to the 
priest for every animal that he sprinkles, and 
the people are made to believe that unless their 
animals are thus sprinkled, they will die during 
the year, or meet with some accident or great 
calamity. In order to keep up the delusion, 
the pope annually sends his horses to be sprin- 
kled. 

Now, the common-sense spectator will natu- 
rally ask, Whence this silly and ridiculous cus- 
tom ? Where is the doctrine found that a 
little water sprinkled upon a beast will save 
his life and protect him from accident ? Not 
in the Bible, certainly — not in the teachings 
of the primitive Christians. It is simply a 
heathen custom transferred from paganism to 
Romanism. 

Dr. Middleton, in his letter from Rome, says 
that " this ceremony is so notoriously and di- 
rectly transmitted to them from paganism, that 
their own writers make not the least scruple to 
own it. The Jesuit La Cerda, in his notes on a 
passage of Virgil where this practice is men- 



PAGANISM OF POPERY. 147 

tioned, says, ' Hence was derived the custom 
of holy church to provide purifying or holy 
water at the entrance of their churches.' Aqua- 
minarium or amida, says the learned Montfau- 
con, was a vase of holy water, placed by the 
heathen at the entrance of their temples, to 
sprinkle themselves with. The same vessel 
was by the Greeks called periranterion ; two 
of which, the one of gold, the other of silver, 
w r ere given by Croesus to the temple of Apollo 
at Delphi ; and the custom of sprinkling them- 
selves was so necessary a part of all their re- 
ligious offices, that the method of excommuni- 
cation seems to have been by prohibiting to 
offenders the approach and use of the holy 
water pot. The very composition of this holy 
water was the same also among the heathen as 
it is now among the Papists, being nothing 
more than a mixture of salt with common wa- 
ter ; and the form of the sprinkling brush, called 
by the ancients aspersorium or aspergillum^ 
(which is much the same with what the priests 
now make use of,) may be seen in bass-reliefs 
or ancient coins, wherever the insignia or em- 
blems of the pagan priesthood are described, 
of which it is generally one." 

The custom of burning candles in the Ro- 
mish cathedrals and churches is also derived 
from the pagans. On great occasions, a large 



148 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

number of candles or lamps are kept burning. 
Under the dome of St. Peter's Church, at 
Rome, one hundred and twelve are perpetually 
lighted. There is a festival called Candlemas, 
which is celebrated with great splendor in 
Rome, and derives its name from the fact that 
a large number of candles are used in the pro- 
cession, and are consecrated for the ensuing 
year. The festival is thus described : " Sitting 
in the chair of state, the pope is borne on the 
shoulders of eight men into St. Peter's, attend- 
ed by huge fans made of ostrich feathers, and 
by cardinals, bishops, prelates, and priests. 
When every thing is arranged for the senseless 
ceremony, candles are brought to him in im- 
mense numbers. They are incensed, sprinkled 
with holy water, and blessed. Then they are 
distributed. Each cardinal approaches, receives 
a candle, kisses the pope's handy and retires. 
Each bishop approaches, receives a candle, 
kisses the pope's kneey and retires. Each in- 
ferior functionary on the occasion approaches, 
receives a candle, kisses the pope's footy and 
retires. On a sudden, an immense number of 
candles are lighted, in the blaze of which the 
pope is carried round the church, and retires, 
granting an indulgence of thirty years to all 
the faithful present. This is Candlemas at 
Rome ; and if any one wishes an indulgence 



PAGANISM OF POPERY. 149 

for all his sins during life, he has only to attend 
this festival three times, and he receives indul- 
gence for ninety years, beyond which he will 
not probably need it." 

Now, Herodotus mentions that the Egyptians 
instituted a great festival called "the lighting 
up of candles." One of the holy fathers thus 
condemns this heathen custom : " They light 
up candles to God, as if he lived in the dark ; 
but do they not deserve to rank as madmen 
who offer lamps to the Author and Giver of 
light?" But whether the benighted pagans 
or these so called Christian priests are the 
greatest madmen, we leave you to judge. 

By some in the church, the pagan origin of 
this rite is admitted.' Bishop England says 
that " lights are placed upon the altar from 
the usage of the most ancient times. It is an 
Eastern custom to express joy ; for, even in the 
light of the sun, the torches and candles were 
lighted to express this feeling; and as our re- 
ligion is received from the East, most of our an- 
cient customs are of Eastern origin." Here is 
an express admission that the Romanists have 
copied the pagan mode of expressing joy. 

The Protestant is contented with the light 
of the sun and the light of God's truth, with- 
out resorting to the faint glimmerings of dimly- 
burning candles. It is enough for him that his 
13* 



150 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

great Master has said, " I am the light of the 
world." Under the splendors of that light he 
hopes to walk in the path of truth, and be con- 
ducted to the bright mansions in the skies. 

The burning of incense, so common in Cath- 
olic churches, is a pagan custom. During the 
ceremonies of worship, you will see a little boy, 
dressed in white, swinging a little vessel, from 
which the incense ascends, and soon fills the 
house. The priest will indeed tell you that 
this incense is the emblem of prayer ascending 
to God; but what auditor is rendered more de- 
votional by seeing this little boy swinging his 
censer, and by breathing and smelling the in- 
cense, which is often very far from being agreea- 
ble? Who, that desired real and delightful com- 
munion with God, would not be greatly annoyed 
by such an absurd practice ? 

And we would ask. Do we find this custom 
prevailing in the churches of the early Chris- 
tians ? Is there any mention made of it in the 
Gospels or the Epistles of the New Testament? 
Is it anywhere enjoined or alluded to by Christ ? 
"We can find it nowhere but among the rites 
of pagan worship ; and here it is found in the 
same form in which it now prevails in the Ro- 
mish churches. Boys dressed in white, and 
with censers in their hands, appeared before the 
pagan altars, and offered incense to the gods. 



PAGANISM OF POPERY. 151 

In fact, the most thorough pagan might enter 
a Romish church, and witness a very consider- 
able portion of the ceremonies and rites of wor- 
ship, without discovering that he was not in a 
pagan temple. When the priest, in his discourse, 
alludes to the virtues of St. Patrick and the 
Virgin Mary, instead of those of Jupiter and 
Venus, the pagan listener might become some- 
what bewildered, and yet he might reasonably 
suppose that these were some new gods, of whom 
he had not before heard. On looking round 
upon the burning candles, and the altar, and the 
images, he might assure himself that he was 
indeed in a pagan temple. The prayers uttered 
in a tongue unknown to the people would also 
help the delusion. He might think that the 
supplication was addressed to Jupiter in Latin, 
because the priest supposed this god was ac- 
quainted with only this language. 

The portions of the discourse that heaped 
terrible anathemas upon all who did not con- 
form to the Romish form of worship, might 
seem to him very tolerable pagan bigotry, and 
as carrying out the spirit of Nero and Diocle- 
tian. Indeed, he might retire from the church 
comforted with a very considerable degree of 
pagan edification. 

The two systems correspond, also, in several 
other particulars. In both, pilgrimages to holy 



152 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

places, and the infliction of bodily suffering, are 
regarded as in the highest degree meritorious. 
Both make use of gay costume, and a variety 
of showy dresses, to please the ignorant and 
deluded populace. Both have their holy wells 
and rivers, to which the devotees resort for spir- 
itual benefits. 

In this country, the Romanists are rather 
poor in holy wells, but they have an abundance 
of them in Ireland, which are minutely de- 
scribed by Christian travellers. There is one in 
the county Mayo which is dedicated to a fe- 
male saint, whose festival is held on the 10th 
of August. " It stands," says one, " in a se^ 
eluded spot, and is surrounded by a very rough 
wall of stones, upon some of which are cut 
Popish hieroglyphics in the most primitive style 
of the art. I found old rags between the stones, 
in place of mortar; and in lifting up some stones, 
I found knots of thread under them ; and upon 
the branches of the little shrubbery by which it 
was surrounded, there were tied pieces of old 
cloth. These were left behind as mementoes of 
their visits by the poor devotees who go there 
to make their stations ; that is, to go round it 
upon their knees, praying to the saint of the 
well for her intercessions." 

" There is another, near Ballina, in Connaught, 
on the side of the public highway. It is sur- 



PAGANISM OF POPERY. 153 

rounded with mud, which was so deep on the 
15th of July as to prevent me from reaching 
its brink ; and through that mud all the devo- 
tees wade in making their stations. After 
making the required prayers around the well, 
they cross the road, and pass over a stone wall 
into a field, in which there is a rock. They 
walk round this rock praying, dropping, at 
each circuit, a little stone upon it. When the 
required circuits are all made, they return to 
the well, and gaze into its shallow waters until 
they see the holy trout, whose appearance is an 
evidence that their prayers are answered." 

As the Hindoos, at the present day, gather 
around their holy founts and rivers, so do these 
Papists gather around their holy wells ; nor is 
it easy to decide which class manifest the most 
ignorance, superstition, and degradation. 

But I need not multiply evidences upon a 
point so clear as that of the resemblance be- 
tween Popery and paganism. It would be far 
more pleasant to trace the likeness of Popery 
to Christianity — to exhibit the members of 
this ancient system as possessing the spirit of 
Jesus, and as walking in the footsteps of the 
apostles and primitive disciples ; but we are 
bound to look at the system as it actually ex- 
ists, and if we find that it is little else than a 
baptized paganism, we are bound to deal with 



154 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

it as such. "We are under obligations to en- 
lighten, and to do all in our power to save, 
those who are blinded and held in bondage by 
this superstition. We would not denounce 
this class of our citizens. We would not harbor 
a prejudice against them. In making an ex- 
position of their principles, we are conscious of 
no other motive than a desire to promote the 
highest good of our Catholic population. But 
when this system of Romanism is presented to 
us, not only as a Christian system, but as the 
only pure and divinely authorized religion, and 
when efforts are made to break down our insti- 
tutions, that upon their ruins may be built the 
faith of Rome, we are bound to resist it. As 
Christians, as philanthropists, as patriots, we are 
under solemn obligations to do all in our power 
to expose the true character of this system, and 
warn the people against its pernicious influence. 



VII. 

PEKSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 

"AND I HEARD ANOTHER VOICE FROM HEAVEN, SAYING, COME 
OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, THAT YE BE NOT PARTAKERS OF 
HER SINS, AND THAT YE RECEIVE NOT OF HER PLAGUES. 
FOR HER SINS HAVE REACHED UNTO HEAVEN, AND GOD 
HATH REMEMBERED HER INIQUITIES." — Rev. xviii. 4,5. 

We enter now upon a dark and melancholy- 
chapter in the history of the Romish apostasy. 
The shadows fall thick and fast around us as 
we leave the light of a pure gospel, and enter 
those regions black with the crimes of the Pa- 
pal church ; and bearing the marks of cruelties 
and atrocities, the mere recital of which sends 
a shudder through the whole frame. Of all 
the contrasts ever exhibited on the earth, that 
presented by the principles of Christianity on 
the one hand, and the persecutions of Rome on 
the other, is the greatest. Place side by side 
Jesus Christ and a Romish inquisitor, and you 
have the very extremes of benevolence and cru- 
elty, of holiness and iniquity, of heavenly mer- 
cy and fiendish barbarity. The one is all ten- 

(155) 



156 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

derness and compassion, the other thirsts for 
the blood of the saints. The one is clothed 
with humility, his countenance radiant with 
celestial virtues ; the other is a monster in hu- 
man form, who delights in the tortures and ag- 
onies of his victims. 

The persecutions which have afflicted the 
Christian church may be assigned to three dis- 
tinct periods — the first extending from the time 
of our Savior to the reign of Constantine ; the 
second, from Constantine to the reformation un- 
der Luther; and the third, from Luther to the 
present time. In the first ages of the church, 
although the disciples of our Lord were exposed 
to every species of insult and cruelty that their 
enemies could devise, yet they never manifested, 
in the slightest degree, the spirit of persecution. 
In imitation of their divine Master, when they 
were reviled, they reviled not again ; when they 
suffered, they threatened not. For curses they 
returned blessings ; and they prayed for those 
who despitefully used them and persecuted them. 
The early fathers imitated Christ and his apostles 
in this particular. Origen took the ground that 
Christians should not use the sword. Lactan- 
tius remarked that coercion and injury are un- 
necessary, for religion cannot be forced ; " nor 
can truth be joined with violence, or justice with 
cruelty. Religion is to be defended, not by kill- 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 157 

ing, but by dying ; not by inhumanity, but by 
patience." The same sentiments were advanced 
by Tertullian, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Augustine, 
and others. The Emperor Constantine, during 
the first part of his reign, manifested a liberal 
spirit towards those who differed from him, and 
respected the rights of conscience throughout 
the Roman empire. The imperial edict of 
Milan was the great charter of toleration, w T hich 
secured the rights of religious liberty to all. 
But subsequently the mind of the emperor was 
poisoned, by the advice of bigoted and intoler- 
ant priests, and ere long the bright prospects of 
the church, faded away before the dark spirit of 
persecution. Heresy was soon regarded as one 
of the greatest crimes, and as requiring the in- 
terference of the secular power for its suppres- 
sion. At first, the penalty for heresy was ban- 
ishment, or the confiscation of the heretic's 
goods, or depriving him of the privileges of a 
citizen. Capital punishment was seldom in- 
flicted. This state of things continued till 
about the beginning of the ninth century, when 
a great change in connection with the eastern 
schism came over the church. The Latin and 
Greek churches were rent asunder, and for 
three hundred years various punishments were 
inflicted for heresy. " This period," says one, 
" was distinguished by superstition, ignorance, 
14 



158 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

revolution, and confusion. Egyptian darkness 
reigned, and triumphed over learning and mo- 
rality. The world sunk into a literary lethargy, 
and in the language of some historians, slept 
the sleep of orthodoxy. Learning, philosophy, 
and religion reposed in inactivity, or fled from the 
view amidst the wide and debasing dominion 
of ignorance, immorality, and superstition, 
which superseded the use of the inquisitor and 
crusader." 

With the revival of learning in the twelfth 
century, there appeared various denominations 
that were opposed to the bigotry, intoler- 
ance, and superstition of the Romish church. 
Among these, the most prominent were the 
Waldenses and Albigenses. These sects could 
not endure the usurpation of the Papacy, the 
luxury and corruption of the priesthood, the 
traffic in indulgences, and the fearful wars that 
had so long desolated the Christian world. 
They saw how utterly inconsistent these things 
were with the spirit and principles of the gos- 
pel, and how they tended to the destruction of 
all vital piety and true devotion. 

But this hostility soon produced a reaction, 
and aroused among the adherents of the Papa- 
cy a spirit of enmity towards the friends of 
true religion, that raged with intense fury. 
Popes, kings, councils, and the crusaders united 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 159 

their forces to crush and exterminate these for- 
midable adversaries. Frederic, the Emperor of 
Germany, and Louis, King of France, were 
particularly zealous in enacting persecuting 
laws, heaping upon these faithful Christians 
the most opprobrious and insulting epithets, 
and seeking their destruction. Under the pre- 
tence of acting with divine authority, they con- 
demned these heretics to the flames, confiscated 
their property, and doomed their posterity to 
infamy. They required all under their com- 
mand to use their utmost endeavors to extermi- 
nate heresy from their dominions. 

The popes united with these persecuting 
kings, and even vied with them in relentless 
cruelty. Urban II. in the year 1090, decided 
that if a zealous Romanist killed one of the 
excommunicated, he was not guilty of murder. 
Lucius III. hurled the most terrible anathemas 
against the Waldenses, and consigned over to 
the severest punishment any who should favor 
or protect those who rebelled against the Papal 
authority. Innocent IV. decreed that those 
who did not adopt the dogmas and supersti- 
tious rites of the church, should be burned 
alive. He even commanded that the house 
that sheltered an Albigensian should be demol- 
ished. To those crusaders who should make 
war upon this noble band of disciples, prom- 



160 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

ises were made of a full pardon for sin, and the ! 
rewards of heaven. 

The provincial and national councils also 
added their zeal and decrees to swell the storm 
of persecution, and sweep from the earth those 
who could not be forced to bow to the man of 
sin. The most bloody were those that met at 
Toledo, Oxford, Avignon, Albi, and Tolosa. 
More than thirty Waldenses, who had immigrat- 
ed to England, were condemned by the Coun- 
cil of Oxford in 1160, and consigned over for 
punishment to the secular powers. Henry II. 
ordered that they should be publicly whipped, 
branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, and 
driven half naked out of the city; while all 
persons were positively forbidden to afford them 
the least hospitality or consolation. Even the 
dictates of a common humanity were to be 
suppressed in reference to them. Consequent- 
ly, the winter being severe, they perished with 
hunger and cold. 

The Councils of Tours, Albi, Beziers, and To- 
losa issued various enactments of extermina- 
tion against the Albigenses and Waldenses. 
On the Sabbath, and on festival occasions, 
these devoted Christians were excommunicated, 
and in order to make a deep impression upon 
the minds of the people, the bells were tolled 
and the lights extinguished. All persons were 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 161 

forbidden to trade with them, or to show them 
any sympathy or favor. Barons and magis- 
trates were required, under the penalty of for- 
feiting their estates, to exterminate from their 
dominions these foes of the Papacy. 

Each council surpassed those that preceded 
it in the severity and cruelty of its enactments. 
The fourth General Council of the Lateran, in 
1245, thundered its anathemas against heretics 
of every class, and their protectors. It required 
that all kings and princes should prosecute the 
work of extermination with the most relentless 
vigor. Those who neglected this work, or 
showed any mercy, were liable to be excom- 
municated, and to have their subjects absolved 
from allegiance to them. 

The defenders of the Papacy have endeavored 
to ward off this charge of persecution by say- 
ing that the whole responsibility rested with 
the secular powers. But in these councils the 
laity never voted. The decrees are the work 
of the clergy alone. And it is a fact abundant- 
ly sustained by history, that princes and emper- 
ors were stimulated to the exercise of cruelty 
by the councils and the popes. They were 
threatened with the ruin of both their temporal 
and eternal interests, if they refused to obey. 

Among the numerous instances that we 
might cite, our limits will only allow us to 
k 14* 



162 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

refer to the intense sufferings and heroic forti- 
tude of the Waldenses through so many ages, 
as affording melancholy evidence of the perse- 
cuting spirit of Romanism. This interesting 
people, as you well know, occupy the valleys 
of Piedmont, on the verge of Italy, and at the 
foot of the Alps. These valleys, lying im- 
bosomed in ranges of mountains that rise in 
solemn grandeur one above another, are sur- 
passingly wild and beautiful. The scenery 
presents, in striking contrast, the verdure and 
mildness of spring, and huge masses of ice, 
and mountains perpetually covered with snow. 
Many of the passes to these valleys are strong- 
ly fortified, not by forts and battlements erected 
by human hands, but by towering rocks, dense 
forests, and dangerous precipices. " It appears," 
says one, " as if the all-wise Creator had from 
the beginning designed that place as a cabinet 
wherein to put some inestimable jewel, or in 
which to reserve many thousand souls who 
should not bow the knee to Baal." 

In this secluded and beautiful spot, this peo- 
ple for ages have worshipped the God of their 
fathers, and protected their institutions and 
their faith against the repeated assaults of their 
adversaries: At times they have had to flee 
and seek shelter in Provence,, in Dauphiny, and 
in the obscure recesses of the Pyrenees. Their 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 163 

heresy consisted in rejecting the superstitions 
of Romanism, the doctrines of Papal infalli- 
bility, transubstantiation, purgatory, and indul- 
gences, and in clinging to the truths of the 
Holy Scriptures, and believing that salvation 
is to be alone obtained through the sufferings 
and mediation of Jesus Christ. 

With regard to their origin, a careful writer, 
the Rev. Dr. Baird, in his excellent History of 
the Waldenses, makes the following state- 
ments : " It is well known that centuries before 
the reformation by Luther, Zwingle, and Cal- 
vin, there was a considerable body of Chris- 
tians inhabiting the valleys which lie in the Alps, 
about midway between the Mediterranean Sea 
and the Lake Leman, who did not symbolize 
with Rome. Through the region which they 
inhabited lay the great road by which the Ro- 
mans passed from Cisalpine to Transalpine Gaul. 
And it is natural to suppose that the early 
Christian missionaries, who carried the truth into 
the latter, passed through this country, and 
preached the blessed gospel to its inhabitants. 
It is even possible that the voice of Paul was 
heard in those deep valleys ; for if he ever made 
that journey into Spain, which he tells the breth- 
ren at Rome, in his epistle to the church of that 
city, that he purposed to make, he must have 
passed, it is believed, by that same way. How- 



164 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

ever that may have been, it is certain that 
there was a great body of Christians in the 
north of Italy, even down to the eleventh cen- 
tury, who nobly maintained the truth, and did 
not bow their necks to Rome." 

Indeed, the Waldenses themselves date back 
their history to the earliest periods of the Chris- 
tian church. They entertain the opinion that 
the gospel was preached to their forefathers by 
missionaries from Rome and other cities of 
Italy, or that it was introduced by the early 
Christians, who escaped the persecutions of the 
Roman emperors, and fled from the plains be- 
low to these mountain retreats. Probably in 
both of these ways the truth was introduced. 
In a petition that was presented by the Wal- 
denses, in 1559, to Philibert Emanuel, Duke of 
Savoy and Prince of Piedmont, the following 
language is used : " We likewise beseech your 
royal highness to consider, that this religion 
which we profess is not only ours, nor hath it 
been invented by men of late years, as is false- 
ly reported, but it was the religion of our 
fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, 
and other yet more ancient predecessors of 
ours, and of the blessed martyrs, confessors, 
prophets, and apostles ; and if any can prove 
the contrary, we are ready to subscribe and 
yield thereunto." Their historians also main- 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 165 

tain that they have enjoyed Christian privileges 
and liberty of conscience from time immemorial. 
Nor were these claims called in question by 
any of the dukes of Savoy or their ministers. 
One distinguished Protestant writer remarks, 
concerning them, " As for the Waldenses, give 
me leave to call them the very seed of the 
primitive and pure Christian church, being 
those who have been so upheld by the wonder- 
ful providence of God, that neither those num- 
berless storms and tempests whereby the whole 
Christian world hath been shaken, nor those 
horrible persecutions which have been so di- 
rectly raised against them, have been able to 
prevail upon them to yield a voluntary submis- 
sion to Roman tyranny and idolatry." 

It would be impossible, within the limits of 
a single discourse, to specify all the instances 
of severe persecution which this noble people 
have suffered. Up to about the beginning of 
the twelfth century, the "Waldenses were com- 
paratively unmolested in their mountain re- 
treats. The popes did not succeed in subduing 
the bishops in the north of Italy until the 
eleventh century, and had not time to look 
after these poor disciples of Christ who inhab- 
ited the valleys of the Alps. The success, how- 
ever, of Peter Waldo, the rich merchant of 
Lyons, in his reformatory measures, and in his 



166 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

zealous labors to promote the interests of vital 
religion, excited the spirit of persecution which 
was first directed towards the Waldenses, who 
were in the western valleys, in Dauphiny and 
Provence. Peter Waldo, after his conversion, 
consecrated his wealth to the service of the 
Savior, and went from place to place preaching 
the truths of a pure and living faith. He had 
the Bible translated into the language of the 
people, and distributed a large number of cop- 
ies. His labors were blessed by the outpour- 
ing of the Spirit of God, and the conversion of 
many souls. 

Indeed, this missionary spirit was a promi- 
nent characteristic of the Waldenses from the 
earliest periods. During the dark ages, when 
the clouds of superstition, ignorance, and error 
hung over the nations of Europe, these faithful 
men sent forth their missionaries, who went, two 
by two, on foot, to their brethren scattered over 
France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Italy. 
Their meetings were held in private houses, 
where the ordinances were administered, dea- 
cons ordained, and the faithful encouraged to 
endure their trials and persecution as good sol- 
diers of the cross. With the most noble self- 
denial, with a zeal equal to that of the apostles, 
with a holy ardor and devotion to Christ that 
no waters could quench or floods drown, they 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 167 

strove to fulfil that last great command, " Go 
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature." 

Besides these ministers, there were humble 
and pious pedlers, who travelled from village to 
village with their jewels and wares, for the ex- 
press purpose of distributing religious tracts 
and making known the glad tidings of salva- 
tion to the poor and destitute. After exhibiting 
some of their articles, if they were asked wheth- 
er they had others of more value, they would 
produce a religious book, or the word of God, 
and manifest more anxiety to have these treas- 
ures received than to effect a sale of their mer- 
chandise. 

Even the bitter enemies of the Waldenses 
bear witness to the excellence and purity of 
their characters. " These heretics," writes an 
inquisitor, " are known by their manners and 
conversation ; for they are orderly and modest 
in their behavior and deportment; they avoid 
all appearance of pride in their dress ; they are 
chaste, temperate, and sober ; they seek not to 
amass riches ; they abstain from anger ; and 
even while at work, are either learning or 
teaching." A Romish prelate says of them, 
" Their heresy excepted, they generally live a 
purer life tban other Christians. In their mor- 
als and lives they are perfect, irreprehensible, 
without reproach among men." 



168 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

But such a people and such an organization 
were dangerous to the power of the pope, and 
to the doctrines and rites of the Papal system. 
Hence, by the highest authorities in the Romish 
church, they were denounced, excommunicated, 
and the work of persecuting them was com- 
menced. The Dukes of Savoy were enlisted 
in the bloody enterprise. At first, individuals 
were seized and cast into prison. Those who 
came down from the valleys to the plains on 
business, or for any purpose, were arrested and 
treated with cruelty. Inquisitors traversed the 
valleys and the recesses of the mountains, and 
arrested those whose religious fervor rendered 
them specially obnoxious to the Papal hie- 
rarchy. 

But these skirmishes soon resulted in open 
war. The dukes were required by the pope's 
legates to furnish the armies for the extermina- 
tion of this dangerous people. 

"The first notable onset," says one, "was 
made on Christmas, A. D. 1400, when an armed 
force of Roman Catholics from Susa invad- 
ed the valley of Pragela, then occupied wholly 
by the Waldenses, and fell unexpectedly upon 
the peaceable inhabitants. Many were slain 
on the spot. All that could fled to the Alber- 
gean, a high mountain which separates the val- 
ley of Pragela from that of St. Martin. Among 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 169 

the wretched beings who were seen clambering 
up the mountain side amid the deep snow, 
were mothers carrying their infant children in 
cradles on their backs, and leading those of 
greater age, who were able to walk. But when 
arrived at the summit, exhausted with fatigue, 
and having no means of creating a fire to re- 
lieve themselves from the piercing cold, most 
of them became quite benumbed during the 
night ; and when the morning came, it found 
not fewer than eighty infants dead in their cra- 
dles, and their mothers stretched by their side 
in a dying state ! This was among the first of 
Rome's efforts to convert these poor people by 
force to her faith." 

In the year 1487,* the regular crusades 
against the Waldenses commenced. An army 
of twenty-four thousand men was organized, 
and the country was attacked at different points 
at the same time. A large force was sent 
against the valley of Angrogna, where many 
of the inhabitants were assembled. But the 
enemy were repulsed with great loss ; and the 
other expeditions were unsuccessful in subduing 
this brave people. 

Another crusade was made against them by 
Charles, Duke of Savoy, at the instigation of 



* See Dr. Baird's History of the Waldenses, pp. 343, 356. 

• 15 



170 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

the Archbishop of Turin and the inquisitors. 
This was entered upon and prosecuted with 
great barbarity. Many of the Waldenses were 
indiscriminately murdered, and others were 
thrown into prison, and into the dungeons of 
the Inquisition, where they were left to perish. 
Some were burned alive, and not a few suffered 
martyrdom with a heroism worthy of universal 
admiration. 

In 1560, another army was sent against this 
unoffending people. They humbly petitioned 
that they might remain unmolested; but their 
petition was disregarded. They were guilty of 
the crime of worshipping God according to the 
dictates of their own consciences. They would 
not believe in the mass, in purgatory, or in the 
infallibility of the pope. They would not pray 
to the saints, nor worship images, nor put con- 
fidence in the sham miracles of the Romish 
church. They were resolved to live according 
to the requirements of a pure gospel, to follow 
Christ through evil and through good report, to 
do right whatever might be the consequences. 
Hence they were dangerous men to the Papacy, 
and must be hunted down and shot like wild 
beasts. 

In the appalling circumstances in which they 
were again placed, they appointed a day of 
fasting and prayer. They then placed their 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 171 

wives and children, the sick and aged, in the 
most secure recesses of the mountains, and 
went forth to meet the enemy. Again was the 
invading army repulsed, although the soldiers 
fought with desperation. 

Gradually, however, the territory of this brave 
and heroic people became more and more re- 
stricted. Their relentless foes pressed upon 
them from every quarter; their villages were 
pillaged, their best citizens were seized and 
hurried away to prison, and every right and 
principle of humanity and justice was trampled 
in the dust. But in the year 1655, a most ter- 
rible storm of persecution burst upon this de- 
voted people. The emissaries of the pope hav- 
ing become enraged at their want of success 
in subduing these heretics, resolved that they 
would make a powerful effort to crush and de- 
stroy them. Accordingly an army was raised 
consisting of fifteen thousand Piedmontese, 
several regiments of French soldiers, a German 
corps, and twelve hundred Irishmen. This for- 
midable force entered the valleys, commanded 
by the Marquis of Pianessa. At a signal 
which was agreed upon, the soldiers rushed 
upon the Waldenses, and scenes of cruelty fol- 
lowed too barbarous and horrible to be even 
recited. Dr. Baird sums up the wicked and 
bloody deeds in the following language : 



172 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

" Houses and churches were burned to the 
ground ; infants were remorselessly torn from 
their mothers, and dashed against the walls or 
the rocks, or had their brains dashed out against 
each other. The sick were either burned alive, 
cut in pieces, or thrown down the precipices. 
Mothers and daughters were violated in each 
other's presence, impaled, and either carried 
naked as ensigns upon pikes at the head of the 
regiments, or left upon poles by the roadside. 
Others had their arms and breasts cut off. Men, 
after being indecently and barbarously mutilat- 
ed, were cut up limb by limb, and had gunpow- 
der thrust into their mouths, and then were 
blown up. Some, both men and women, were 
buried alive ; some were dragged by the hair 
on the ground at the tail of a mule. Numbers 
were cast into a burning furnace. Young 
women fled from their pursuers, and leaped 
down precipices, and were killed, rather than 
submit to their brutal violence. That these 
things occurred, we have in proof the deposi- 
tions of more than one hundred and fifty wit- 
nesses, taken in the presence of notaries public, 
and of the consistories of the different localities." 
These awful barbarities produced an instan- 
taneous and immense sensation throughout 
Protestant Europe. Remonstrances came in 
from every quarter, and contributions were 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 173 

made for the sufferers in England, Holland, 
Switzerland, and other Protestant countries. 
An envoy sent by Cromwell closed an address 
that he made to the Duke of Savoy, in the fol- 
lowing bold and earnest language : " In the 
mean time the angels are seized with horror! 
Men are amazed ! Heaven itself is astonished 
with the cries of dying men ! The earth blush- 
es, being discolored with the blood of so many 
innocent persons. Do not thou, O most high 
God ! do not thou take that revenge which is 
due to such aggravated wickedness and horrible 
villany ? Let thy blood, O Christ, wash away 
the stain of this blood." Although large col- 
lections were taken up and sent to the relief of 
the sufferers who survived the carnage, yet mul- 
titudes continued to be in great distress for the 
want of the necessaries of life. Morland, in 
his w r ork relative to the Waldenses, says, " To 
this very day they labor under heavy burdens, 
which are laid on their shoulders by those rigid 
taskmasters of the church of Rome. To this 
very day do the enemies of the truth plough 
and make furrows upon their backs, by robbing 
them of their goods and estates ; by banishing 
their ministers who were the shepherds of the 
flock, that the wolves may the better come in 
and devour them; by ravishing their young 
women and maidens ; by murdering many in- 
15* 



174 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

nocent souls ; by cruel mockings and revilings ; 
by continued menaces of another massacre. 
What shall I say? Those very valleys which 
they inhabit are no other than a prison or dun- 
geon, to which the port at La Tour serves as a 
door. To all this I must add, that, notwith- 
standing those large supplies which have been 
sent them from England and other foreign 
states, yet so great is the number of hungry 
creatures, and so grievous the oppressions of 
their Popish enemies, who lie in wait to bereave 
them of whatsoever is given them, and snatch 
at every morsel of meat that goes into their 
mouths, that verily they are ready to eat their 
flesh for the want of bread. The tongue of 
the suckling cleaves to the roof of its mouth ; 
and the young children ask bread, and no man 
gives it to them. The young and the old lie 
on the ground in the streets. Their miseries 
are more sad and grievous than words can ex- 
press. They are in a manner dying, whilst 
they yet live ; no grapes in their vineyards ; no 
cattle in their fields; no herds in their stalls ; 
no corn in their garners; no meal in their bar- 
rel ; no oil in their cruse." 

But as though the cup of this people was 
not full, they were again smitten, in 1663, with 
the scourge of war, which lasted fourteen 
months. Although wasted, and torn, and bleed- 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 175 

ing, from past conflicts, yet they were forced 
again to arouse themselves to the defence of 
their altars, their habitations, and their lives. 
As in past conflicts, the movements of the en- 
emy were marked with treachery, cruelty, and 
the most high-handed atrocities; while the 
Waldenses maintained their heroic fortitude 
and devotion to the religion of their fathers. 
It is difficult for us, protected as we are in all 
our rights and privileges, to realize the alarming 
excitement and terror in which this people con- 
stantly lived. Scarcely did they recover from 
the stunning effects of one war, before another, 
more terrible and bloody, burst upon them. 
Scarcely were their tears, over the fall of near 
friends, wiped away, before they were called to 
weep over other victims of the fury of their en- 
emies. Even during the seasons when the 
storms of war abated, they lived in constant 
fear of their enemies. If they cultivated their 
fields, they knew not but that they would be 
trampled beneath the feet of their persecutors. 
If they built houses, in all probability they 
would only be fuel for the incendiary. If they 
erected churches, they might soon be demol- 
ished. If they reared and educated their chil- 
dren, they might reach manhood only to be 
pierced through with the sword, or to linger out 
a miserable existence in the dungeon of an 



176 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



Inquisition. They were literally strangers and 
pilgrims on the earth ; they had here no abiding 
city. Yet, through all their trials and agonies, 
we find them maintaining their faith, and trust- 
ing in their glorious Redeemer. They seek a 
city that hath foundations, whose builder and 
maker is God. They know that there remain- 
eth a rest for the people of God. Noble men ! 
Heroic Christians! Kings and princes, not of 
this earth, — for no thrones here are worthy of 
them, — but kings and princes unto God ! mon- 
archs upon the thrones of an everlasting king- 
dom ! They have gone hence to join the noble 
army of martyrs, the general assembly and 
church of the first born. To-day they swell 
the multitude of worshippers who bow before 
the Lamb, and sing the glories of redeeming 
love. They have left their mountain home for 
the heights of the spiritual Jerusalem, where no 
din of war or groans of the dying can reach 
their ears ; where no mansions are invaded, no 
temple falls, but where the broad shield of an 
almighty King is thrown over them. 

But the sufferings of this people ended not 
with the war of 1663. The storm of persecu- 
tion had lulled only to break out with still greater 
fury. After twenty years of oppression, the most 
horrible of the thirty-three wars, which they had 
endured on account of their religion, burst upon 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 177 

them. Louis XIV., having crushed Protestant- 
ism in France, called upon the Duke of Savoy 
to imitate his example in reference to the Wal- 
denses. The duke at first declined the request ; 
but Louis threatened that, if he did not exter- 
minate the Waldenses, he would send his ar- 
mies against them, and annex the valleys to his 
own dominions. The duke became alarmed, 
and issued an edict calling upon the inhabit- 
ants to abandon their religion, break up their 
churches, send away their pastors, allow their 
children to be educated by Roman Catholics, 
and, in short, become Papists. But the com- 
mand being disobeyed, the forces were sent 
against them, and in the first two battles were 
repulsed w 7 ith serious loss. On the third day, 
from some unaccountable cause, the "Waldenses 
laid down their arms, and fourteen thousand of 
them were taken prisoners, and crowded into 
miserable dungeons. In a few months eleven 
thousand died from cold, hunger, and various 
privations. Two thousand children were car- 
ried away to be educated by Popish teachers. 
The valleys, and all the property of the unfor- 
tunate people, were given up to the Roman 
Catholics. Three thousand, who survived, were 
allowed to retire to the Protestant cantons of 
Switzerland, where they were kindly received 
by their brethren. 



178 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

But we may be asked, Does not the spirit 
of persecution belong to the past ages of the 
Romish church, rather than to these modern 
times ? To this question I would reply by re- 
ferring to the recent treatment of the Madiai 
family by the Popish authorities, to the spirit 
manifested towards Protestants in France and 
Ireland, and to the language used in the Roman 
Catholic journals of America, in regard to the 
right of the Papal church to exterminate heresy. 
The truth is, that the persecution of opponents 
is an element inherent in the very system of 
Romanism. Their journals in this country 
have repeatedly avowed that no faith is to be 
kept with heretics, and that, had they the power 
to destroy religious liberty and Protestantism 
in America, they would instantly exert that 
power. One of their papers at the west does 
not hesitate to say " that the temporal punish- 
ment of heresy is a mere question of expediency ; 
that Protestants do not persecute us here, sim- 
ply because they have not the power ; and that 
where we abstain from persecuting them, they 
are well aware that it is merely because we can- 
not do so, or think that, by doing so, we should 
injure the cause that we wish to serve" 

A most daring outrage has recently taken 
place in Ireland, which is thus described in one 
of the religious papers in this city : — 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 179 

" A party of Protestants from Enniskillen, 
eight hundred' in number, had chartered a rail- 
way train for an excursion to Derry ; but on 
their return, they encountered some heavy 
stones, which had been placed on the track, 
near an embankment, where it was expected 
that the cars would be thrown off, with the de- 
struction of an incalculable amount of life. 
One of the stones weighed over one thousand 
pounds, and must have required twenty men to 
have placed it there. The train was drawn by 
two engines, both of which were thrown off the 
track, and one engineer was killed; but, as the 
fastening of the trains to the engines was bro- 
ken, the cars were not thrown off, and no per- 
son in them was injured. Lord Enniskillen 
was on the engine, but he jumped off, and es- 
caped with some bruises. Several arrests of 
persons suspected of the crime have been made. 
The religion which could have prompted such 
an act must be the religion of the devil. It is 
evident that the catastrophe was expected by 
the editors of some of the Romish papers. A 
correspondent of one of them writes as follows, 
just previous to the occurrence :' — 

" 'On to-morrow, (Friday,) there will be a great 
gathering of the Orangemen of the counties of 
Tyrone, Fermanagh, and Londonderry, or the 
city of Derry. The Londonderry and EnniskiU 



180 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

len Railivay has proved useful to the Orangemen 
in this part of Ulster to hold processions. How 
the gathering of to-morrow may come off. Heav- 
en alone can tell. The probabilities are, we shall 
have a similar scene as that which has taken 
place at Newtownlimavady. Should any thing 
happen in Deny to-morrow, I will send it to you 
in time for your Saturday's edition. The great 
danger to be apprehended from the government 
refusing to take vigorous steps to suppress these 
proceedings, is the revival of the old Ribbon 
system.' 

" After the accident, which providentially de- 
feated the intention of wholesale murder, (only 
two being killed, and one of these a Romanist 
engineer,) the people gathered about; but no 
one offered the least assistance, and some re- 
fused to bring water, or even a door on which 
to carry the wounded, after taking pay for doing 
it. It providentially happened, that the train 
was passing slowly at the time of the accident, 
and so kept from being thrown off the track. 
This resulted from one of the engines not being 
in working order, of which fact the engineer 
could give no account. 

" But one of the most remarkable things 
about it is, that some of the Romish papers in 
Ireland openly justify the outrage. To the 
Mercury belongs this consummation of infamy. 



PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF ROMANISM. 181 

That paper doubts whether the attempt was so 
much to be reprehended, when the positions of 
the two parties are considered ! That is, the 
deliberate murder of Protestants is not to be 
deprecated ! " 

If Rome has improved in regard to its perse- 
cuting spirit, we should be glad to be furnished 
with the evidence. 

16 



VIII. 

THE INQUISITION. 
"Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my 

SOUL, COME NOT THOU INTO THEIR SECRET; UNTO THEIR 
ASSEMBLY, MINE HONOR, BE NOT THOU UNITED." — Gen. xlix. 
5,6. 

The most palpable contradiction of ideas 
that is conceivable to the human mind is ex- 
pressed in the phrase "the holy Inquisition." 
With as much propriety might one speak to us 
of a holy hell, or the immaculate purity of 
devils, as to talk about a holy Inquisition. 

Papal writers have been distinguished for their 
skill and daring in the perversion of language, 
but in this expression they reach the very 
highest point of perversion. They cannot go 
beyond this, themselves. " A holy prostitute," 
"a holy murderer," "the holy Judas Iscariot," 
these expressions are feeble compared with " the 
holy Inquisition." 

Bring together all the crimes in the catalogue 
of human wickedness, — fuse into one mass, 
treachery, hypocrisy, fraud, cruelty, and the 
greatest atrocities and vallanies of which this 

(182) 



THE INQUISITION. 183 

earth has ever been the theatre, — and you may- 
obtain a conception of the horrors of the Romish 
Inquisition. No one, with the least degree of 
sensibility, can read the history of this institu- 
tion without having his soul filled with the 
keenest indignation, and without feeling that 
even fallen human nature is disgraced by its 
atrocities. 

The founder of the Inquisition was one 
Dominic, although some historians are inclined 
to think that the benevolent idea was first 
suggested to the mind of Pope Innocent III. 
Either of these worthies might receive the 
honor without any violence being done to their 
dispositions and characters. 

Dominic was eminently qualified, by nature 
and experience, for his work. He was a man 
who rose above every feeling of compassion 
or pity, and who seems never to have had the 
slightest conception of what is called human- 
ity. His cruelty was of that cold, intense, im- 
pregnable sort, upon which no amount of suffer- 
ing or anguish could make any impression. 
His highest happiness consisted in witnessing 
the tortures, and listening to the groans of his 
victims. If he could have before him a heretic 
bleeding at every vein, with dislocated joints, 
and torn nerves, and lacerated limbs, he was in 
paradise. He completed his preparation for 



184 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



the office of inquisitor, during the bloody wars 
that raged against the Albigenses. In the 
hottest of the battle, he might have been seen, 
with a crucifix in his hand, at the head of the 
soldiers, urging them on to the slaughter of 
the Christians. He used the emblem of the 
Prince of Peace, as the means of firing the 
souls of men with the fiercest passions, and 
stimulating the barbarities of war. 

If there were any tendencies in his nature 
towards mercy, they were under such complete 
discipline that they never manifested them- 
selves. They were crushed in their incipient 
stages, if they ever existed, so that the man 
could prosecute his fiendish work with energies 
untrammelled by scruples of conscience, and 
with a vigor that was not weakened by a re- 
morse that would have affected ordinary minds. 
As a reward for his valuable services, this mis- 
creant was canonized, and is to this day wor- 
shipped as a saint in the Romish church. The 
Roman breviary praises " his merits and doc- 
trines, which enlightened the church ; his in- 
genuity and virtue, which overthrew the To- 
losan heretics ; and his many miracles, which 
extended even to the raising of the dead." 

His own letters and preaching bear witness 
to his atrocious cruelty. After receiving his 
appointment as inquisitor, he preached a ser- 



THE INQUISITION. 185 

mon in the church of St. Pmllian, before a vast 
crowd, in which he declared that "he was re- 
solved to defend with his utmost vigor the doc- 
trines of the faith, and that, if the spiritual and* 
ecclesiastical arms were not sufficient for this 
end, he was determined to call in the secular 
arm," to excite and compel the Catholic princes 
to take arms against heretics, that the very 
mention of them might be utterly destroyed." 

Some of the princes and bishops, shrinking 
from this bloody work, Dominic, in order par- 
ticularly to exterminate the innocent Albi- 
genses, formed an order called the Militia of 
Christ, which was approved of by the pope, 
and protected by the Emperor Frederic II. 

Pope Innocent III. not living to complete the 
organization of the Inquisition, the work was 
prosecuted with great vigor by his successors, 
Honorius III. and Gregory IX. The latter, in 
the year 1229, called a council at Toulouse, 
which, among other enactments, ordained that 
appointed persons, lay and clerical, should 
search for heretics, and that no territorial lord 
should harbor any suspected person. At the 
same time it was required that all the inhab- 
itants of each district should be registered, and 
that every person arriving at a certain age, 
should take an oath of adhesion to the Catho- 
lic faith, and of renunciation of heresy. 
16* 



186 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



The tribunal of the Inquisition was first es- \ 
tablished at Toulouse, in 1233. Gradually in- 
creasing in power and cruelty, the institution, 
"was afterwards introduced into Spain, Portu- 
gal, and other Papal countries. The managers 
of these inquisitorial courts were selected chief- 
ly from the Dominicans and Franciscans, as- 
these orders of monks were the most zealous = 
advocates of Popish doctrines, and were well i 
qualified, by their low origin and brutal nature, , 
for their bloody work. From the pope they re- 
ceived unlimited powers to excommunicate or 
condemn to death any persons whom they sus- 
pected of heresy. They could also engage in 
crusades against heretics, and unite with sover- 
eigns in making war upon any who were ob- 
noxious to the Papal authorities. 

In 1244, Frederic II. greatly aided them by 
publishing two very cruel edicts. First, that 
all heretics who continued obstinate should be 
burned, and, second, that all heretics who re- 
pented should be imprisoned for life. 

Those persons were accounted guilty of her- 
esy who uttered or wrote any thing against the 
doctrines, traditions, or rites of the Romish 
church, or who spoke a word against the In- 
quisition. Also, if any one read a book that 
had been condemned by the Inquisition, or 
neglected mass, or allowed a year to pass with- 



THE INQUISITION. 



187 



out going to confession, or read the Holy Scrip- 
tures in the language of the common people, 
or listened to a sermon from a Waldensian, or 
any other heretic, or prayed with a heretic, or 
aided one in escaping from the horrors of the 
Inquisition, or refused to obey the commands 
that issued from these tribunals — he was pro- 
nounced guilty of heresy. 

Indeed, all Roman Catholics were com- 
manded to inform against their nearest and 
dearest friends, if they were but suspected of 
entertaining heretical opinions, under the pen- 
alty, if they refused, of excommunication. 
Should one, under an impulse of humanity, 
extend the least comfort or consolation to a 
suffering disciple of Jesus, whose conscience 
would not allow him to adopt the superstitions 
of the Romish church, he would at once be 
seized and punished by these merciless inquis- 
itors. 

Situated as we are, it is impossible for us to 
realize the intense solicitude and emotions of 
terror that must pervade a community in the 
midst of which is planted this infernal tribunal. 

Under its tyrannical sway, parents are re- 
quired to stifle all their natural affections and 
tender regard for their children, and become 
their accusers, if they discover in them any 
symptoms of a vital faith, or a disposition to 



188 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

study and obey the word of God. Children 
must forget the reverence, gratitude, and love 
due to their parents, and, under the severest 
penalties, act as spies over their conduct, and 
report to these tormentors the least deviation 
from the despotic rules of the Papacy, and 
the slightest remark that indicated disrespect 
towards the Papal church, or disapproval of the 
horrors of the Inquisition. No one is permitted 
to visit his dearest relative or friend, who has 
been cast into one of its horrid dungeons. 
Though he may be convinced of the perfect 
innocence of that friend — though he may be 
prompted to afford him aid and comfort by the 
dictates of humanity and religion, as well as 
feelings of personal friendship — though he may 
know that in the arrest of his friend the prin- 
ciples of justice have been grossly outraged — 
yet it is at the peril of his own life that he ex- 
tends the least sympathy to the unfortunate 
victim. 

In the organization of this institution, the 
inquisitor general was at the head of the su- 
preme council, which exercised authority over 
all the inferior courts. His powers were im- 
mensely great. He appointed the inferior in- 
quisitors, who bore the title of most reverend, 
and were equal in rank to the bishops. In 
large districts, there were vicars, or commis- 



THE INQUISITION. 189 

sioners, who aided the general in his infamous 
work. The officer who brought the charges 
against the accused was called the promoter 
fiscal^ who swore that he was not influenced 
by malice. Those who acted as secretaries of 
the tribunal were called notaries. It was their 
duty, not only to keep a record of the transac- 
tions of the court,- but also to preserve an ac- 
count of the most minute circumstances in the 
trial, such as the appearance of the criminal, 
his readiness or hesitation in answering ques- 
tions, the changes in his countenance, manner, 
voice, &c. 

There were also treasurers, who took care of 
the property that was confiscated, and held it 
subject to the directions of the tribunal. It 
was common for persons to be seized and mur- 
dered, simply to gain possession of their prop- 
erty ; so that wealth was as dangerous an ele- 
ment as heresy. 

Such a tribunal, possessed of unlimited pow- 
ers, accountable only to the pontiff, who would 
wink at the most palpable wrongs in order to 
preserve its influence, prosecuting its nefarious 
work in secret, and managed by the vilest set 
of wretches that ever disgraced the world by 
their presence, must necessarily be an engine 
of terrible force and boundless cruelty. And 
we are free to say that we search the history 



190 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

of the world in vain, to find an institution that 
can at all compare with this, for atrocity and 
merciless barbarity. Of all the tribunals that 
have ever raised their hideous forms upon pa- 
gan, Mahometan, or Christian soil, this is the 
most frightful and stupendous. Here malevo- 
lence and misanthropy have rioted without 
control. Here the most fiendish disposition 
has been satiated, by tortures and agonies the 
most intense ever endured by human beings. 

The ministers of this tribunal usually issued 
forth in the dead of night to execute their bar- 
barous purposes. Approaching the house of 
the alleged criminal, and knocking at the door, 
they made known, in a few words, their deadly 
mission. ." The thunderbolt launched from the 
black and angry cloud," says one, " strikes not 
with such alarm as the sound of, Deliver your' 
self up a prisoner to the Inquisition ! Aston- 
ished and trembling, the unwary citizen hears 
the dismal voice ; a thousand different affec- 
tions at once seize upon his panic-struck frame, 
and he remains perplexed and motionless. His 
life in danger — his deserted wife and orphan 
children — eternal infamy the only patrimony 
that now awaits his bereft family — are all ideas 
which rush upon his mind. He is at once agi- 
tated by an agony of dilemma and despair. 
The burning tear scarcely glistens on his livid 



THE INQUISITION. 191 

cheek ; the accents of woe die on his lips ; and 
amidst the alarm and desolation of his family, 
and the confusion and pity of his neighbors, 
he is borne away to dungeons whose damp 
and bare walls can alone witness the anguish 
of his mind." Here, cut off from all intercourse 
with his friends ; without society or books ; 
without even a knowledge of the crime for 
which he has been arrested ; with no compan- 
ions but his own sad thoughts, and the dread 
of the tortures that are before him, he must 
linger on from day to day, and week to week, 
awaiting the issue of the terrible calamity that 
has befallen him. We do not wonder that 
many, under the influence of this protracted 
anguish, have had their spirits broken ; and 
that others, not governed by Christian princi- 
ple, or sustained by Christian fortitude, have 
terminated their sufferings by suicide. A 
learned Spaniard, who, in the reign of Charles 
V., was imprisoned under the suspicion of fa- 
voring Lutheranism, exclaimed, " O, my God ! 
were there no Scythians, or cannibals, or pagans 
still more savage, that thou hast permitted me 
to fall into the hands of these baptized fiends ? " 
After lingering in his gloomy and filthy dun- 
geon, which the persecutors never allowed to 
be cleaned, he died, under circumstances too 
painful to be narrated. Another learned and 



192 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

devoted Christian, who was immured in the 
prison of Seville, often said that his condition 
was more dreadful than any kind of torture 
that he could be called to endure. 

When the poor victim was brought before 
the tribunal, he was subjected to a series of 
questions that required him to review nearly 
all the events of his life. He was obliged to 
state his parentage, the names of his relatives, 
and whether any of them had ever been arrested 
by the inquisitors. He was asked what he 
supposed was the cause of his arrest, and was 
required to give an account of his opinions and 
thoughts, as well as of his actions. Sometimes 
the questions were put in tones of persuasion 
and apparent sympathy, in order to elicit a full 
and frank confession. If this failed, oiher 
modes were resorted to, which violated every 
principle of right or justice. Take, for instance, 
the following passage from the Directory of 
Nicholas Eymeric, who was inquisitor general 
of Arragon in 1536, and whose work was sanc- 
tioned by Gregory XIII. : — 

" When the prisoner has been impeached of 
the crime of heresy, but not convicted, and he 
obstinately persists in his denial, let the inquis- 
itor take the proceedings into his hands, or 
any other file of papers, and looking them over 
in his presence, let him feign to have discovered 



THE INQUISITION. 193 

the offence fully established therein, and that 
he is desirous he should at once make his con- 
fession. The inquisitor shall then say to the 
prisoner, as if in astonishment, ' And is it pos- 
sible that you should still deny what I have 
here before my own eyes ? ' He shall then 
seem as if he read ; and to the end that the 
prisoner may know no better, he shall fold 
down the leaf, and, after reading some moments 
longer, he shall say to him, ' It is just as I have 
said ; why, therefore, do you deny it, when you 
see I know the whole matter?' When the 
inquisitor has an opportunity, he shall manage 
so as to introduce to the conversation of the 
prisoner some one of his accomplices, or any 
other converted heretic, who shall feign that he 
still persists in his heresy, telling him that he 
had abjured for the sole purpose of escaping 
punishment by deceiving the inquisitors. Hav- 
ing thus gained his confidence, he shall go into 
his cell some day after dinner, and keeping up 
the conversation till night, shall remain with 
him, under pretext of its being too late for him to 
return home. He shall then urge the prisoner 
to tell him all the particulars of his life, having 
first told him the whole of his own ; and, in the 
mean time, spies shall be kept at the door, as 
well as a notary, in order to certify what may 
be said within." 

m 17 



194 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



In cases where the charge was of a grave or 
important character, if these means failed of 
extracting a confession, the torture was applied. 
The victim was taken to a room under ground, 
which no ray of light from the sun ever reached. 
Here, around a table, were seated the inquisitor, 
inspector, and secretary. In a corner of the 
room stood the executioner, clothed in black, 
and presenting a hideous and frightful appear- 
ance. While the prisoner was supposed to be 
terrified by the preparations that were being 
made for his torture, he was again urged to 
confess the whole truth. If he persisted in as- 
serting his innocence, however well grounded 
might be his declarations, he was given over to 
the executioner. 

After being stripped, without regard to sex 
or decency, the prisoner was clothed in a tight 
linen garment, leaving the arms bare. The 
processes of the torture are thus described by 
an able and truthful writer : * — 

" The first process was that of the pulley. 



* The most reliable sources of information, in regard to the 
Inquisition are Limborch's Inquisition. Puigblanch's work, and 
the History of the Inquisition of Spain by Don Juan Antonio 
Llorente, formerly Secretary of the Inquisition, Chancellor 
of the University of Toledo, &c. For this and other extracts, 
I am indebted to a work issued by the London Tract Society, 
entitled " The Inquisition in Spain and other countries." 



THE INQUISITION. 195 

By this the prisoner was hoisted to the roof of 
the hall, his hands bound behind him, and at- 
tached to the rope which elevated him, whilst a 
heavy weight, sometimes of a hundred pounds, 
was fastened to his feet. The simple elevation 
of a human body six or seven feet from the 
ground was dislocating; but this torture could 
be severely increased. Sometimes, whilst in 
this position, stripes were applied to his back ; 
and sometimes, the rope being suddenly relaxed, 
the weight descended in an instant towards the 
ground, which,' however, the body was not al- 
lowed to touch ; and by this violent jerk the 
limbs were disjointed with the most excruciat- 
ing agony. In the mean time, the secretary 
w r as precise in recording the whole process — 
the weights which were attached to the body, 
as well as how often, and during what length 
of time the culprit was suspended. 

" The next principal torture was that of the 
rack. The victim was extended upon a wooden 
frame, having transverse portions, like a ladder, 
or sometimes only one cross piece, upon which 
his back might uneasily rest, with his feet usu- 
ally higher than his head. Small cords were 
then affixed to the fleshy parts of his body, 
namely, to the upper and lower arm, and to the 
thigh and calf of the leg, which, being tight- 
ened by the application of a bar, used after 



196 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

the manner of a tourniquet, buried themselves 
in the soft and yielding integuments, cutting 
to the bone. A still more terrible torture be- 
longed to this ' wooden horse,' as it was some- 
times called. A thin wetted cloth was thrown 
over the mouth and nostrils of the sufferer, 
through which he could scarcely breathe ; then 
a stream of water, sometimes amounting to 
seven pints, was poured down his throat, pro- 
ducing the sensation of drowning or suffoca- 
tion. (During this time, the notary kept a min- 
ute of the whole process, down even to the 
quantity of water which was administered.) 
When this cloth, which had during this time 
penetrated considerably into the victim's body, 
was removed, it was usually covered with 
blood, and its withdrawal was a renewal of the 
agony of the previous process. 

" The third principal torture was that of the 
fire. The feet of the prisoner, already satu- 
rated with tallow or oil, were placed in a kind 
of stocks, and exposed to the heat of lighted 
charcoal — a process of roasting alive. This 
torture was, however, mainly confined to Italy, 
and was especially adapted to persons who were 
deformed, and to whom other modes of torture 
were not so easily applicable. When his agony 
had reached its crisis, a moment's intermission 
was given by the interposition of a board ; the 



THE INQUISITION. 197 

prisoner was then exhorted to confess ; but if 
he would not, or could not, the roasting went 
on. Heathenism might have exulted in so bar- 
barous a cruelty. 

" But though these were the principal tortures, 
the Inquisition could boast of many others. 
Sometimes a considerable amount of water was 
allowed to trickle, drop by drop, upon the cul- 
prit. Sometimes the body was enveloped in 
a linen garment, which was drawn as tight as 
possible, so as almost to squeeze the sufferer to 
death ; then, being suddenly relaxed, it produced 
by the change the severest anguish. Sometimes 
small cords were bound around the thumbs so 
tightly that the blood poured out from beneath 
the nails. Sometimes the body, placed against 
the wall, and adequately supported, was tightly 
compressed by small cords affixed to the wall : 
then, the bench beneath the sufferer being re- 
moved, the body was left to hang by these cords 
alone. The reader can best conceive the suf- 
fering. Sometimes a small ladder, the trans- 
verse parts of which were made of sharpened 
wood, was placed against the shins of the vic- 
tim, and was then violently struck with a ham- 
mer. The torture of this infliction was incred- 
ible. Sometimes ropes were placed about the 
wrists of the accused, and were then drawn tight 
by being passed over the back of the torturer, 
17* 



198 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

who leaned forward with all his might till the 
flesh was severed. The last tortures were in- 
flicted on Orobio, a Spanish Jew, who related 
the facts to Limborch. 

" One of the Italian tortures consisted of two 
cubes of iron, concave on one side, which were 
bound forcibly on the heel, then screwed into 
the flesh. Another, called the canes, was com- 
posed of a hard piece of wood, placed between 
each finger ; the hand was then bound, and the 
fingers forced together. Nor need we omit an 
agonizing torture — the placing of a foot — 
sometimes a woman's foot — in a heated 
slipper. But Llorente relates a torment, ob- 
served in Madrid, in the year 1820, which per- 
haps surpasses all. We give it in his own 
words : — 

" i The condemned is fastened in a groove, 
upon a table, on his back ; suspended above 
him is a pendulum, the edge of which is sharp, 
and it is so constructed as to become longer 
with every movement. The wretch sees this 
implement of destruction swinging to and fro 
above him, and every moment the keen edge 
approaching nearer and nearer; at length it 
cuts the skin of his nose, and gradually acts on 
until life is extinct. 5 

" Does any perceptible vestige of the religion 
of love linger in such observances ? 



THE INQUISITION. 199 

" On the subject of the torture Llorente 
says, — 

" ' I shall not describe the different modes of 
torture employed by the Inquisition, as it has 
been already done by many historians. I shall 
only say that none of them can be accused of 
exaggeration. I have read many processes 
which have struck and pierced me with horror, 
and I could regard the inquisitors who had 
recourse to these methods in no other light 
than that of cold-blooded barbarians. Suffice 
it to add, that the council of the " supreme" 
has often been obliged to forbid the repetition 
of the torture in the same process ; but the in- 
quisitors, by an abominable sophism, have 
found means to render this prohibition almost 
useless, by giving the name of suspension to 
that cessation from torture which is imperiously 
demanded by the imminent danger to which the 
victim is exposed of dying in their hands.' " 

But some Romanists, while they admit that 
these atrocious cruelties have been practised, 
yet contend that they belong to a past age, and 
that the present generation are not responsible 
for them. Were such the fact, we would read- 
ily allow that the force of the argument, as 
bearing upon the present Papal church, would 
be greatly weakened. But it is not a fact. The 
Inquisition has been sustained whenever and 



200 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



wherever the Papacy has dared to open its dun- 
geons, as we shall prove before we are through. 

Indeed, it has been* in these modern times 
openly advocated by Popish writers. It is sus- 
pended, but not annihilated. "Where is the de- 
cree or law from any pope or council, declaring 
the institution abolished? We can find de- 
crees enough that favor it, but none from any 
Popish ecclesiastical authority denouncing it. 

Among the fruits of this terrible tribunal, we 
cannot overlook the auto da fe, or act of faith, 
as the scene is called. When several of the 
victims of the Inquisition were to be executed, 
a day was fixed upon, usually the Sabbath, 
when it was publicly announced that there 
would be presented a view of the last judg- 
ment. In this horrible scene, we have exhib- 
ited every phase of wickedness and villany, the 
most heartless cruelty, combined with hypoc- 
risy, a mockery of mercy, and the most as- 
tounding blasphemy. 

When the inquisitors had prepared their vic- 
tims, they sent word to the magistrates that 
on the appointed day they would deliver the 
prisoners into their hands for execution. The 
magistrates, however reluctant to perform such 
a service, did not dare to refuse, as they would 
be themselves excommunicated, and exposed to 
the wrath of the ecclesiastical tormentors. In 



THE INQUISITION. 201 

order to secure a large and approving audience, 
an indulgence of forty days was granted to 
those persons who should be present. That 
public order might be preserved, proclamation 
was made that during the day no person should 
carry firearms, or drive any vehicle through the 
streets. The prisoners were dressed in robes 
bearing various devices, which indicated the 
supposed degree of their guilt. 

From the numerous accounts given of this 
barbarous ceremony, I would select the follow- 
ing description of the auto da fe which took 
place in Madrid, in 1680, at which Charles II. 
and his queen were present: — 

" At seven o'clock in the morning, the great 
bell of the cathedral began to toll, and the pro- 
cession moved forward. The way was cleared 
by soldiers of the holy tribunal. Next came 
surpliced priests, among whom the Dominican 
monks were honored with precedence, and bore 
the banner of the Inquisition, which in .Spain 
is a green cross on a black ground. A hundred 
and twenty prisoners followed, some in person 
and others in effigy borne on tall poles, the 
least guilty having the honor of precedence. 
Of these victims, forty-eight were men, seventy- 
two were women — an appalling but significant 
distribution. The effigies were sometimes ac- 
companied by boxes containing the bones of 



202 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



deceased heretics. Last in the procession of 
prisoners came twenty-one condemned to die, 
the greater part of whom were gagged lest they 
should utter words which might be dangerous 
to the ears of spectators. These victims, wear- 
ing the coroza and sanbenito, were each at- 
tended by two friars, torturing the miserable 
sufferer to the last by useless and rejected over- 
tures. The procession was wound up by the 
local magistracy, the officers of state, the chief 
bailiffs of the Madrid Inquisition, the familiars 
of the holy office, on horses superbly attired, 
the ecclesiastical ministers, the fiscal proctor of 
the tribunal of Toledo, bearing the standard 
of the faith, &c, and, last of all, the inquisitor 
general, J seated on a superb bay horse, with 
purple saddle and housings, ornamented with 
ribbons and fringe of the same color, and at- 
tended by twelve servants in livery.' * * * 
Olmo tells us that 'this procession was per- 
formed in perfect silence.' 

" A stage had been erected in the large 
square, of temporary materials, and in the fol- 
lowing manner : At the back of the stage were 
three rows of galleries rising one above another, 
covered with drapery. 

" When the royal party had taken their seats, 
the prisoners were paraded before them. An 
oath was then administered to the king, that 



THE INQUISITION. 203 

he would defend the Catholic faith, ' which our 
holy mother the apostolic church of Rome 
holds and believes ; and that he would perse- 
cute, and command to be persecuted, all here- 
tics and apostates opposed to the same; that 
he would give, and command to be given, to 
the holy office of the Inquisition, and also to 
the ministers thereof, all aid and protection, in 
order that heretics, disturbers of our Christian 
religion, might be seized and punished con- 
formably to the laws and holy canons, without 
any omission on the part of his majesty,' &c. 

" Mass was then said, and the oath was ad- 
ministered to the mayor of Madrid and to the 
people present; after which a sermon was 
preached by a Dominican qualifier. * * * 

" The sermon being ended, the trials and sen- 
tences were read, which occupied the multitude 
till four in the afternoon. Those who were 
condemned to die were, if ecclesiastics, stripped 
of their robes with great solemnity. The vic- 
tims were then delivered over to the magis- 
trates, with the hypocritical request as to each 
one, i that they would treat him with much 
commiseration, and not break a bone of his 
body, or shed his blood.' But as the judge 
had been already made acquainted with the 
number of prisoners to be delivered over to 
him, every preparation had been made for this 



204 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

consummation. The place of execution was an 
area suitably fitted up for the occasion, being 
a stone platform of sixty feet square, and seven 
feet in height. Some of those who were con- 
demned to be burned, anticipating the orders 
of the executioners, cast themselves into the 
fire. The rest were soon made to follow. The 
bodies of those on whom the sentence of stran- 
gulation before death had been carried out, 
were then thrown into the flames, together with 
the effigies or bones of such as had not fallen 
into the hands of their merciless tormentors." 

It seems to us, in this age of light and hu- 
manity, scarcely credible that such barbarous 
scenes could be enacted in any age of the 
world, and especially that they could be de- 
manded in the name of religion. Yet we find 
them sustained by the whole authority of the 
Papacy, and accompanied by a show of re- 
ligious fervor that we wonder does not draw 
down the vengeance of an insulted Deity. The 
pretence, that because the secular officers exe- 
cute the victims, therefore the members of the 
Romish church are guiltless, is the most stu- 
pendous piece of mockery that was ever ex- 
hibited on the face of the earth. 

But these awful scenes are not without some 
redeeming features. In the fortitude, patience, 
and faith of the heroic sufferers, we are furnished 



THE INQUISITION. 205 

with new evidences of the energy and life-giving 
power of the doctrines of the gospel. We are 
taught that that system of religion must in- 
deed be from God, that can carry believers 
through such various and intense trials — that 
can sustain them amid such manifestations of 
hypocrisy and insolence, as well as cruelty, 
and enable them, while the consuming flames 
are around them, to sing the praises of their 
Maker, to rejoice in God, and joy in the God 
of their salvation. 

Did our limits allow, we would speak of the 
individual instances of noble Christian heroism 
that lie scattered along the track of this in- 
fernal tribunal. But we hasten to notice the 
establishment of the Inquisition in Spain, which 
took place under the reign of Ferdinand and 
Isabella. Here new, and even more rigid prin- 
ciples were introduced into the institution. 
Llorente mentions them in his " History of 
the Inquisition," among which are the follow- 
ing:— 

The sixth article ordained that part of the 
penance of a reconciled heretic should consist 
in being deprived of all honorable employ- 
ments, and of the use of gold, silver, pearls, 
silks, and fine wool. 

The eleventh article decreed that a penitent 
who demanded absolution might receive it, but 
18 



206 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

at the same time he must be condemned to per- 
petual imprisonment. 

By the nineteenth article, if an accused 
man did not appear when he was summoned, 
he was denounced as a heretic. The other ar- 
ticles are equally atrocious. 

The persecutions in Spain raged with great 
violence against the Jews, who had acquired 
wealth and influence. They were charged 
with various crimes, of which they were never 
guilty ; and so great was the excitement against 
them, that the inquisitors declared that they 
must be banished from Spain, in order to save 
the Christian religion. Being greatly alarmed, 
they offered to the sovereigns thirty thousand 
pieces of silver, and promised to be obedient 
and faithful citizens. 

" These propositions," says one, " were con- 
veyed to Ferdinand and Isabella by Abarbanel, 
once a farmer of the royal revenue, who, hav- 
ing been allowed to reach the royal presence, 
in the Alhambra, kneeling at the royal feet, 
besought the sovereigns to recall the sentence 
which they had just pronounced, namely, that, 
after the next 31st of July, every person harbor- 
ing a Jew should incur the forfeiture of all his 
property, and be deprived of any office he 
might hold ; and that, during the interval, any 
Jew might sell his estates, subject to the con- 



THE INQUISITION. 207 

dition that they were not to remove gold, sil- 
ver, money, or other prohibited articles. The 
entreaty was abject, the temptation great, when 
Torquemada burst into the apartment, and 
drawing forth a crucifix, held it up as he cried 
out, ' Judas sold his master for thirty pieces of 
silver; your highnesses would sell him anew 
for thirty thousand : behold him ! take him 
and sell him with all the haste you can ! ' He 
threw the crucifix on the table, and left the 
apartment. Abashed and confounded, the royal 
couple retraced their steps. Torquemada had 
gained the victory, and the edict was signed 
March 20, 1492. 

"Nothing could exceed the consternation of 
the Jews on the issuing of this proclamation. 
The time was too short, the state of the market 
(now presenting advantageous offers on every 
hand) too unfavorable to allow of any fair 
measure of compensation for the property they 
were compelled to sacrifice. ' A house was 
exchanged for an ass; a vineyard for a small 
quantity of cloth or linen.' But in vain did 
Torquemada urge them to receive baptism. A 
few only listened to his exhortations. The 
rest, to the number of eight hundred thousand, 
quitted Spain ; some of them, in evasion of the 
edict, carrying their money concealed in their 



208 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

saddles, or in their garments, whilst not a few 
of them swallowed their gold. 

" When the day named in the edict arrived, 
all the principal roads witnessed a melancholy 
spectacle in the crowds of sad and desolate 
exiles by which they were thronged. Men, 
women, children, on horses, or asses, or carts, 
thronged the highways, attended by a great 
multitude who performed the journey on foot. 
Few knew the direction which they ought to 
take. Their misery was aggravated, not re- 
lieved, by the songs and music with which 
their rabbis exhorted them to triumph over the 
calamities of the occasion. Vessels had been 
partially provided at the principal ports; but 
the insufficient means of transport mocked 
their hopes. They were assailed on their road 
by multitudes of plunderers and debauchees, 
who, in some cases, even tore open their bodies 
in search of gold. Of those who reached their 
provided vessels many were sold into slavery, 
and many thrown into the sea. Pestilence in- 
vaded some of the over-crowded vessels ; ship- 
wreck and famine did their work on many 
more. Some, who managed to reach Ercilla, a 
Christian settlement in Africa, proceeded to 
Fez, to be plundered by robbers, and then re- 
turned to Ercilla, where their calamities induced 



THE INQUISITION. 209 

them to accept an unwelcome baptism. Others,, 
journeying towards Italy, took refuge in Naples, 
bringing with them a pestilential disorder, which 
spread among the inhabitants, and carried off 
twenty thousand in one year. Others again, 
with better success, made their way into Portu- 
gal, through which they were allowed a passage 
at the rate of a cruzade a head; while they 
were allowed, if they settled, to ply their skill 
as artisans in that kingdom." 

But we cannot follow out the history of this 
terrible tribunal in Spain. We see that it has 
left its blight upon all her institutions, and 
proved a curse from which the nation cannot 
for ages recover. It has darkened every hope, 
blighted every prospect, and spread in every 
direction despair, ruin, and death. 

The terrible enginery of the Inquisition was 
introduced by Spain into her South American 
colonies. It was established at Lima, and pro- 
duced there the same fearful results that were 
experienced elsewhere. Until quite recently 
persons might be seen bearing the marks of its 
tortures. 

u A Spaniard, 5 ' says Tschude, "whose limbs 
were frightfully distorted, told me, in reply to 
my inquiries, that he had fallen into a machine 
which had thus mangled him. A few days 
before his death, however, he confided to me 
n 18* 



210 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

that in his twenty-fourth year he had been 
brought before the tribunal of the holy Inquisi- 
tion, and that, by the most horrible tortures, he 
had been compelled to confess a crime of which 
he was not guilty. I still shudder, when I 
remember his crushed and twisted limbs, at the 
thought of the agonies which the unhappy 
wretch must have endured. 

" On one occasion its power met with an 
unexpected check. The viceroy, Castel Fuerte, 
was denounced to it by his confessor as a here- 
tic. He was summoned, accordingly, before 
the holy office, always eager to show its author- 
ity, even over the highest. He went, entered 
the hall of judgment, took out his watch, and 
said, ' Senores, I am ready to discuss this affair, 
but for one hour only ; if I am not back by that 
time, my officers have orders to level this build- 
ing with the ground.' And, indeed, at that 
very time his body guard, a company of in- 
fantry, with two pieces of artillery, had taken 
their station before the building. The inquisi- 
tors, aghast at this information, consulted to- 
gether during a brief colloquy ; then, with offi- 
cious eagerness, complimented Castel Fuerte 
out of their establishment." 

In Portugal, the machinery of the Inquisi- 
tion was worked with appalling power, and 
with the most fatal results. Llorente, in speak- 



THE INQUISITION. 211 

ing of the cruelty of Cardinal Tabera, who was 
the sixth inquisitor general in Portugal, says, — 

" The number of victims, calculated as it was 
for the time of Maurique, affords, for the seven 
years of Cardinal Tabera's ministry, seven thou- 
sand seven hundred and twenty individuals con- 
demned and punished ; eight hundred and forty 
were burned.in prison ; four hundred and twenty 
in effigy ; the rest, in number five thousand four 
hundred and sixty, were subjected to different 
penances. I firmly believe that the number 
was much more considerable ; but, faithful to 
my system of impartiality, I have stated the 
most moderate calculation." 

After a revolution which shattered the iron 
framework of tyranny in the nation, the office 
of the Inquisition in Lisbon was abolished, and 
the prisons were thrown open for public inspec- 
tion. They are thus graphically described : — 

" On the 8th of October, 1821, the palace of 
the holy office was opened to the people. The 
number which crowded to see it for the first 
four days rendered it extremely difficult, and 
even dangerous, to attempt an entrance. The 
edifice is extensive, and has the form of an 
oblong square, with a garden in the centre. It 
is three stories high, and has several vaulted 
galleries, along which are situated a number 
of dungeons of six, seven, eight, and nine feet 



212 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

square. Those on the ground floor and on the 
first story, having no windows, are deprived of 
both air and light when the door is shut. The 
dungeons of the next story have a kind of 
breathing hole, in the form of a chimney, 
through which the sky may be seen. Those 
apartments were allotted to prisoners who, it 
was supposed, might be set at liberty. In the 
vaulted wall of each dungeon there is a hole 
of about an inch in diameter, which communi- 
cate^ with a secret corridor running along by 
each tier of dungeons. By this means the 
agents of the Inquisition could at any moment 
observe the conduct of the prisoners without 
being seen by them; and, when two persons 
were confined in the same dungeon, could hear 
their conversation. In these corridors were 
seats, so placed that a spy could observe what 
was passing in two dungeons by merely turn- 
ing his eyes from right to left, in order to look 
into either of the holes between which he might 
be stationed. Human skulls and other bones 
have been found in several of the dungeons. 
On the walls of these frightful holes are carved 
the names of some of the unfortunate victims 
buried in them, accompanied with lines, or 
notches, indicating the number of days of their 
captivity. One name had beside it the date 
4 1809.' The doors of certain dungeons, which 



THE INQUISITION. 213 

had not been used for some years, still remained 
shut, but the people forced them open. In 
nearly all of them human bones were found ; 
and among these melancholy remains, in a 
dungeon, were fragments of the garments and 
the girdle of a monk. In some of these dun- 
geons the chimney-shaped air hole was walled 
up, which is a certain sign of the murder of 
the prisoner. In such cases the unfortunate 
victim was compelled to go into the air hole, 
the lower extremity of which was immediately 
closed by masonry. Quicklime was afterwards 
thrown on him, which extinguished life and 
destroyed the body. In several of these dens 
of misery mattresses were found, some old, 
others almost new — a circumstance which 
proves, whatever may be said to the contrary, 
that the Inquisition in these latter times was 
something more than a scarecrow. The ground 
on which the palace of the Inquisition stands 
was covered with private houses before 1775 ; 
whence it is plain that the victims who have 
suffered here must all have been sacrificed 
within less than sixty years. Besides the 
dungeons which the people visited, there are 
subterraneous vaults which have not yet been 
opened." 

The modern Inquisition in Italy shows us 
how slightly the persecuting spirit of Roman- 



214 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

ism has been affected by the light and progress 
of civilization. In the year 1825, under Pope 
Leo XII. , the work of the inquisitors was re- 
commenced with new vigor. The prisons were 
somewhat improved in regard to air and light, 
but the spirit which caused the erection of 
them was as dark, cruel, and hateful as ever. 
From that period until the late revolution in 
Italy, scenes of horror transpired within the 
building, the details of which are known only 
to their infamous authors. 

In 1849, the Constituent Assembly deter- 
mined that the tribunal should be abolished, 
and the building appropriated to some military 
purpose. The prisons at that time contained 
but two persons, a bishop and a nun, the for- 
mer having been imprisoned there for twenty 
years. On examining the vaults, a great num- 
ber of human bones were found, mixed up with 
lime, and in a state of decay. Portions of 
human hair and of female dresses were also 
found, indicating acts of villany that one shud- 
ders to contemplate. Between the splendid 
apartment of the inquisitor and the hall of trial 
there was a deep opening, at the bottom of 
which human remains were found, and which 
evidently was once covered with a trap door. 
As the victims passed from the hall, their feet 
would touch the treacherous floor, and, while 



THE INQUISITION. 215 

perhaps receiving words of sympathy and prom- 
ises of pardon, they would sink into the cav- 
ern, never again to see the light of day. 

As to the question whether the Inquisition 
exists at the present day, we have no means 
of forming a decided opinion. We are inclined, 
however, to believe that, should another revolu- 
tion take place in Italy, and the pope be again 
compelled to flee, there would be revelations 
of cruelty and suffering among the thousands 
of Italian patriots now in the prisons of the 
Papal States that would startle the civilized 
world. If, at the present time, a person who 
applies for a permit to visit a brother or a son 
in prison is liable to be himself banished from 
the country, can we suppose that there is any 
great lenity shown to the prisoner ? If there are 
thousands of patriots to-day suffering, in gloomy 
and filthy dungeons, all the horrors that the vic- 
tims of the Inquisition endured, what means 
have they of making known their agony to the 
world? What newspaper or telegraph can 
communicate to us the information? And 
should the details be made known, how can 
friends afford relief while French and Swiss 
bayonets guard the despotism of Rome ? 

The truth is, that the spirit of deadly perse- 
cution is inherent in Romanism. It is one 
of its vital forces. It can only be destroyed 



216 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

by the destruction of the system that it ani- 
mates. 

It is indeed a melancholy task to thus trace 
the career of this church by its tracks of blood, 
to gaze upon its unparalleled barbarities, to 
listen to the groans of its victims, to watch the 
course of that fiendish spirit that has so often 
put the torch to the fagots around the Christian 
martyr, and filled the earth with lamentation 
and tears. Our great wonder is, that religion 
itself has not been annihilated, and the earth 
shrouded in the darkness of universal scepti- 
cism. 

But we are met with the declaration that 
some Protestants have in times past employed 
the weapons of persecution. That they have 
been influenced by the spirit of the period in 
which they lived we are ready to allow. The 
dominant power of the Papal church, during 
those dark ages which acknowledged her almost 
boundless sway, lay too crushingly upon the 
universal conscience to allow it completely and 
at once to free itself. How nobly Protestant 
Christianity has struggled against the bigotry 
and intolerance which seemed for a time the 
inheritance of the whole human family, — how 
slowly but surely the liberty wherewith Christ 
doth make his children free has disinthralled 
the fettered conscience, the shackled soul, — we 



THE INQUISITION. 217 

are willing for history to testify. Unlike our 
opponents, we have never claimed infallibility 
for our leaders. The stamp of human frailty 
and of their age was upon them ; although we 
believe they were generally in advance of their 
times, and their aspirations and their influence 
were for the future's good. "We speak now of 
the acknowledged spiritual leaders ; not of 
such men as Henry VIII, who used religion 
as a mere political engine, and who, while ab- 
juring Popery, still retained the Popish element 
of despotism, the Popish union of church and 
state, which has wrought such deadly harm 
to vital piety in the British dominions. The 
church of God seeks to free herself from the 
virus of the beast with which she has been 
inoculated ; and in proportion as she succeeds 
will her purity and vitality be made apparent. 

" While Romanism prides itself upon its im- 
movability, its conservatism, progress is an inte- 
gral part of Protestantism ; and its onward 
march, however slow, is steady and direct. 
We have faith in the poetic utterance, — 

" Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again ; 
The eternal years of God are hers ; " 

and nowhere are her triumphs so freely invited 
as in this our beloved land. 

We feel strong here in our position, our 
19 



218 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

numerical strength, our ancestry, wealth, and 
power. But we have an insidious and mighty 
enemy to work against; and, while we would 
show that the weapons of our warfare are not 
carnal, but spiritual, we would guard against 
every encroachment upon our civil and reli- 
gious institutions. And among the means to 
be used for our protection, we would insist 
upon having the public establishments of the 
Roman Catholics open to the inspection of the 
community, just as Protestant institutions are. 
We would have a law passed requiring the 
foreman of the grand jury, or some other officer, 
to visit, at stated periods, the nunneries, con- 
vents, and all institutions of a similar charac- 
ter. Our own safety and the safety of our 
children demand such a measure. Here are 
young ladies of Protestant parentage enticed, 
under the plea of superior religious advantages, 
to enter these nunneries, from which they can 
never afterwards make their escape. They take 
the veil, which is literally a veil that is to hide 
from the public gaze every insult or act of vil- 
lany to which they are subject, and every suf- 
fering that they are called to endure. That 
these institutions are kept secret, and barred 
with iron against the public inspection for any 
good purpose, the past history of Romanism 
will not allow T us to admit for a single moment. 



THE INQUISITION. 219 

If they are the depositories of such eminent 
piety as the priests contend, why should the 
world lose the advantage of its salutary influ- 
ence ? If they are prisons in which the hopes 
and happiness of the young and confiding are 
buried, and in which deeds are performed that 
the American people would not tolerate within 
the limits of the republic, then the facts ought 
to be known. I sincerely hope that such a law 
will be passed, and that the Massachusetts 
legislature will be the first to set the example. 



IX. 

THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



"These words, which I command thee this day, shall be 

IN THY HEART J AND THOU SHALT TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY 
UNTO THY CHILDREN, AND SHALT TALK OF THEM WHEN 
THOU SITTEST IN THY HOUSE, AND WHEN THOU WALKEST 
BY THE WAY, AND WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN, AND WHEN 
THOU RISEST UP."— Deut. vi. 6, 7. 

" The entrance of thy words giveth light ; it giveth 

UNDERSTANDING TO THE SIMPLE." — Ps. Cxix. 130. 



The recent systematic and powerful efforts 
that have been made by Roman Catholics to 
divide the public school fund, and banish the 
Bible from our free schools, have aroused the 
American community to a sense of their just 
rights, and to the dangers which threaten our 
invaluable system of education. The hostility 
which has been and continues to be manifested, 
though aimed professedly against sectarianism, 
yet really exists against all education, that en- 
lightens and purifies the masses of the people. 
The cry which is raised about the Bible in pub- 
lic schools, about the rights of the Catholic 
population in regard to the school funds, is 

(220) 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 221 

really the clamor of the Romish priesthood 
against the mental and moral light that is 
pouring forth from our schools, and threatening 
the existence of their system, that " loves dark- 
ness rather than light;" that can thrive only 
where ignorance, superstition, and bigotry pre- 
vail. Indeed, their journals speak out the sen- 
timents of Romanism upon this point as well 
as upon the Bible question. Listen to the fol- 
lowing from a Catholic journal that was pub- 
lished in St. Louis, Missouri : — 

" We think that the ' masses ' were never less 
happy, less respectable, and less respected, than 
they have been since the reformation, and par- 
ticularly within the last fifty or one hundred 
years — since Lord Brougham caught the ma- 
nia of teaching them to read, and communicat- 
ed the disease to a large proportion of the Eng- 
lish nation, of which, in spite of all our talk, 
we are too often the servile imitators. 

" We do not believe that the masses are one 
whit more happy, more respectable, or better in- 
formed, for knowing how to read. We unhes- 
itatingly declare that we regard the invention 
of printing as the reverse of a blessing, and our 
modern ideas of education as essentially erro- 
neous." — Shepherd of the Valley, Oct 22, 1852. 

The Freeman's Journal, the organ of Arch- 
bishop Hughes, in New York, says, — 
19* 



222 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

" The withdrawal of Catholic children every 
where from the godless schools should be the 
first step : it is lamentable that it has not long 
ago been taken. Next we must set to work, 
patiently, calmly, resolutely, perseveringly, to 
break off from o,ur necks the yoke of state des- 
potism, put upon them by Jacobins in the shape 
of the school system in this and other states." 

The Catholic editor of the Chicago Tablet, 
in a lecture delivered at Joliet, Illinois, expressed 
the following opinion of, common schools : — 

" The common schools of America are foun- 
tains of prostitution and crime, and all manner 
of indecencies and immoralities is practised 
in them : I know it to be so, because I was ed- 
ucated the first twenty years of my life in them." 

Here we have the sentiment which underlies 
the whole movement, that takes the different 
forms of hostility to the Bible, or a clamor 
about conscientious scruples .or the rights of 
the Romanists to a portion of the school fund. 
The war is in fact waged against education as 
an enlightener of the public mind. 

But leaving the other questions, we are ready 
to meet the Romanists upon the simple issue 
of the right of the American people to retain 
the Bible in our public schools. 

And in the first place I would remark, that 
these schools were established by our forefathers 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 223 

for the express purpose of giving- to the young a 
religious, as well as a secular education. They 
recognized the principle that the Bible, being 
the word of God, should be taught to all man- 
kind. They regarded its principles and doc- 
trines as designed for the human mind, as 
clearly as that the light of heaven is designed 
for the eye, or the air which we breathe for the 
lungs. Accordingly, more than two centuries 
ago, the colony of Massachusetts Bay made 
provision by law for the establishment of 
schools based upon the religious element. The 
law was as follows : " It being one chief ob- 
ject of Satan to keep men from the knowledge 
of the Scriptures, as in former times, keeping 
them in unknown tongues, so in these latter 
times, by persuading them from the use of 
tongues, that so at least the true sense and 
meaning of the original might be clouded and 
corrupted with false glosses of deceivers ; there- 
fore, to the end that learning may not be buried 
in the graves of our forefathers in church and 
commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeav- 
ors, it is ordered by this court, that, in every 
township containing fifty householders or more, 
one should forthwith be appointed to teach 
such children as should resort to him to read 
and write ; and that, in any township contain- 
ing one hundred householders, they should set 



224 



ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 



up a grammar school, to fit youth for the uni- 
versity." 

Such was the law passed by the early colo- 
nists, and it was, I believe, the first ever passed 
by any Christian state, conferring the benefits 
of education upon every citizen. And you will 
observe that it was expressly designed to pre- 
serve and to disseminate throughout the com- 
munity a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. 

In the laws subsequently passed in this State 
of Massachusetts, we find not only a recognition 
of the religious element in education, but it is 
set forth as a matter of primary importance. 
Our school laws contain the following enact- 
ment directly bearing upon this point : — 

* " It shall be the duty of the president, profess- 
ors, and tutors of the university at Cambridge, 
and of the several colleges, and of all precep- 
tors and teachers of academies, and all other 
instructors of youth, to exert their best endeav- 
ors to impress upon the minds of children and 
youth committed to their care and instruction, 
the principles of piety, justice, and a sacred re- 
gard to truth, love to their country, &c. * * * 
And it shall be the duty of such instructors to 



* As quoted by Dr. G. B. Cheever in his able and convincing 
work on " The "Bible in our Public Schools ; " a work to which I 
am happy to acknowledge my indebtedness for several of the quo- 
tations and views presented in this and the following lecture. 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 225 

endeavor to lead their pupils into a clear under- 
standing of the tendency of the above-men- 
tioned virtues, to preserve and perfect a repub- 
lican constitution, and secure the blessings of 
liberty, as well as to promote their future hap- 
piness." 

The same principles, substantially, entered 
into the laws which were passed in Connecti- 
cut, in regard to education, as early as the year 
1656. It was enjoined upon all the officers of 
government to see to it that every child and ap- 
prentice " attain at least so much as to be able 
to read the Scriptures, and other good and prof- 
itable printed books in the English tongue ; and 
in some competent measure to understand the 
main grounds and principles of the Christian 
religion." And so thoroughly was this system 
carried out, that for a century and a half it was 
very rare to find a native of that state who 
could not read the English language. 

In New York, also, and other states that 
adopted the free school system, the earliest ef- 
forts were characterized by an earnest desire to 
promote, by means of education, the interests 
of morality and religion. General Clinton, in, 
recommending the establishment of common 
schools, said, " The advantage to morals, reli- 
gion, liberty, and good government, arising from 
the general diffusion of knowledge, being uni- 



226 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

versally admitted, permit me to recommend this 
subject to your deliberate attention." 

But it is unnecessary for me to multiply wit- 
nesses on this point. It is clear from the his- 
tory of the free school system of America, that 
it had its origin in the desire to maintain the 
truths of the Bible in the hearts of all the peo- 
ple. The Bible, in fact, is its source. Had 
the Bible been proscribed in Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, and New York, as it is in Italy, 
Spain, and Mexico, this glorious system of ed- 
ucation would never have had an existence. 
Its blessed results in promoting public order, 
general intelligence, and social happiness, and 
in maintaining our free and religious institu- 
tions, would never have been experienced. To 
remove, therefore, the Bible and its sacred prin- 
ciples from our system of education, would be 
to take from that system its life-giving power. 
It would be like removing the soul from the 
body. If it was essential to the highest good 
of the people, and the prosperity of the nation, 
to form at the outset this close alliance between 
religion and education, it is equally essential 
now to maintain it. For we are acting in this 
matter, not for the present generation alone, but 
for the millions of youth who are in the future 
to inhabit this continent. Should the enemies 
of the Bible once succeed in legislating it out 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 227 

of our schools, it would be no easy task to re- 
store it. For the floods of infidelity and athe- 
ism in the land would rush in and widen the 
breach, and, by mingling with the Papal influ- 
ence, swell the tide of opposition, and give to 
it an almost resistless power. Indeed, already 
have infidels and atheists joined hands with the 
Romanists in this war against our system of 
education. Nor, in my view, can there be a 
more vital and solemn question presented to 
the American people, than that of maintaining 
the integrity and the religious character of our 
free school system. " It is a question," said 
the Hon. Mr. Webster, " which, in its decision, 
is to influence the happiness, the temporal and 
eternal welfare, of one hundred millions of hu- 
man beings, alive and to be born in this land. 
Its decision will give a hue to the apparent 
character of our institutions ; it will be a com- 
ment on their spirit to the whole Christian 
world. I insist that there is no charity, and 
can be no charity, in that system of instruction 
from which Christianity is excluded." * 

* One of our editors remarks "Among no people are the 
blessings of education more generally diffused, and among no 
people does there exist more wide-spread knowledge and intelli- 
gence, than among the people of the United States. This happy 
condition of affairs is the natural result of the common school 
system which has been established throughout our land. Wher- 
ever it has been introduced, it has raised up armies of intelligent 



228 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

But we are met by the Romanist with the 
declaration, that the Bible is a sectarian book, 
and as such ought not to be read or studied in 
schools, where the children of different sects are 
gathered to receive secular instruction. Now, 
I contend that, of all the books in the world, 

freemen around it ; and it should be cherished as the safest and 
strongest bulwark which can be thrown up around the liberties 
of our beloved country. 

" From an interesting collection of educational statistics in the 
last number of Norton's Literary Gazette, we learn that there are 
now in the United States about sixty thousahd common schools, 
which are supported at an annual expense of nearly six million 
dollars. Of this -whole amount New York contributes more than 
one third, and Massachusetts more than one sixth. In the year 
1853, there were in New York eleven thousand six hundred and 
eighty-four school districts, and instruction was afforded to six 
hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and sixty-eight 
scholars — the total amount expended being two million four 
hundred and sixty- nine thousand two hundred and forty-eight 
dollars. Massachusetts, for the same year, numbered four thou- 
sand one hundred and thirteen schools, and more than two hun- 
dred thousand scholars. Her aggregate expenditure for school 
purposes was one million seventy- two thousand three hundred 
and ten dollars. The old Bay State has a school fund of one mil- 
lion two hundred and twenty thousand two hundred and thirty- 
eight dollars. The city of Boston alone appropriates three hun- 
dred and thirty thousand dollars annually to public schools of 
various grades. In Pennsylvania, there are ten thousand schools, 
attended by four hundred and eighty thousand pupils. In 1853, 
the amount of school tax levied in the state, exclusive of Phila- 
delphia, city and county, was one million four hundred and thirty- 
two thousand six hundred and forty-one dollars. In Ohio, the 
school tax amounts to about one million two hundred thousand 
dollars. Wisconsin has a fund of one million dollars, and land 
which, when sold, will increase it to five millions. Texas has es- 
tablished a permanent school fund of two million dollars.'* 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



229 



the Bible is the most free from the charge of 
sectarianism. What is this book but the mes- 
sage of God to man — the revelation of the di- 
vine will concerning man's duty and destiny ? 
What is it but a system of pure, momentous, 
and glorious truths, that brings before us the 
character and perfections of the Deity ; that 
points out the paths of virtue, honor, and hap- 
piness ; that throws open the gates of the heav- 
enly city, and reveals the joys and glories of an 
immortal state ? And does not such a revela- 
tion concern one mind as well as another, one 
immortal being as well as another ? You 
might as well call the sun that shines upon us 
from the heavens a sectarian sun, or the stars 
sectarian stars, as to call this gift of the univer- 
sal Father a sectarian book. 

But what does the Romanist mean when he 
asks us to exclude the Bible from our free 
schools, on the ground of its sectarian char- 
acter ? Why, he can only mean that he is op- 
posed to this book because it favors Protestant- 
ism, and is hostile to Romanism. It is a book 
which is very dangerous to the power of the 
priesthood, and to the superstitions, rites, and 
exactions of the Romish church. It is so dan- 
gerous, that, in Italy and other countries where 
Popery is in the ascendency, a man must obtain 
a license in order to have the liberty of reading 
20 



230 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

the Bible. In the fourth rule of the Index of 
the Council of Trent, we read as follows : 
" Forasmuch as the reading of the Scriptures 
in the vulgar tongue (that is, in the language 
understood by the people) has been productive 
of more evil than good, it is expedient that 
they be not translated in the vulgate, or read 
or possessed by any one without a written 
license from the inquisitor or the bishop of the 
diocese." 

In this country, men are licensed to sell ar- 
dent spirits and gunpowder, because these 
things are dangerous to life and property. But 
in Rome, a man must obtain a license to read 
the word of God, because this is dangerous to 
the state and church. If the Bible is generally 
read, there may be an explosion that will shat- 
ter to atoms the vast fabric of Romish super- 
stition and tyranny. The priesthood have had 
experience in the case of Luther and his Bible, 
which has taught them the importance of keep- 
ing this book from the people. But with all 
their watchfulness, they do not always succeed. 
An instance is related of a pious Irishman, who 
was discovered by a priest reading the Scrip- 
tures in a cabin to some poor Roman Catholics, 
who were delighted with hearing the precious 
truths of God's word. " When the priest came 
in, he asked him, in a most dictatorial tone, 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 231 

c How dare you read the Scriptures to any of 
my flock ? ' ' Please your reverence,' said the 
man, with the readiness for which an Irishman 
is always distinguished, c I have got a search 
warrant to do it.' ' Produce it,' said the priest; 
4 I am sure that it cannot be from the bishop, 
or from his holiness the pope.' { No} said the 
Scripture reader ; c it is from God ; and here it 
is, in John v. 39 — Search the Scriptures.' " 

Now, in the very clamor that the Roman 
Catholics have raised in our country against 
having the Bible in the public schools, and in 
the arguments which they have used, they have 
virtually declared that the word of God is op- 
posed to their system of religion ; that Roman- 
ism cannot prosper where children are taught 
to read the Holy Scriptures. 

To meet this, however, the Papist is ready 
to change his ground, and say that it is not the 
Bible, but the Protestant version, that he ob- 
jects to. But it has been truly said *that " there 
is no such thing as a Protestant version ; there 
never has been; it is a mere figment used to 
cover the attack against the word of God. 
There is a Romish version, but there is no Prot- 
estant version. There is an English version 
for all who read English. The work was be- 

* By Dr. Cheever. 



232 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

gun by Wickliffe, in the Romish church, before 
the art of printing ; it was renewed and contin- 
ued by Tyndale, Coverdale, Matthew, and others, 
in the same Romish church, before the public pro- 
testations against the errors of that church. It 
was printed, published, and circulated by tj^e au- 
thority of a Romish king, Henry VIIL, with a 
license procured by Cranmer, and the vicar gen- 
eral, Cromwell, of the Romish church, permit- 
ting, in Cranmer's words, that it might be ' read 
of every person without dangers of any act, 
proclamation, or ordinance heretofore granted to 
the contrary, until such time that we, the bish- 
ops, shall set forth a better translation, which, I 
think, will not be till a day after doomsday.' 
This very translation, which, in the main, was 
that of Tyndale, was substantially taken as 
the basis of the translation issued under King 
James. It was in effect adopted by the forty- 
seven translators employed by him, so that our 
present incomparable English translation of the 
Scriptures cannot be called a Protestant trans- 
lation, but simply the English translation ; and 
of such perfect freedom from any thing secta- 
rian, as between Romanism and other sects, 
that the learned Dr. Alexander Geddes, an ec- 
clesiastic of the Romish church himself, called 
it ' of all versions, the most excellent for accu- 
racy, fidelity, and the strictest attention to the 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 233 

letter of the text' The learned Selden called 
our English translation ' the best version in the 
world.' " 

But while our Bible is as correct a transla- 
tion from the original Hebrew and Greek as 
pious and learned men could make it, and as 
such deserves the title of the pure word of 
God, the Romanists have a version which, ac- 
cording to some of their most eminent writers, 
is full of errors. 

The first act of corruption was the introduc- 
tion of the apocryphal books, which threw into 
the church a flood of errors. These books were 
rejected by the primitive church and early fa- 
thers ; and yet the Romanists tell us that they 
receive and interpret the Scriptures according 
to the unanimous consent of the holy fathers. 

The Council of Trent decreed that the Latin 
vulgate should be the only authority in the Ro- 
mish church. But what is the history of this 
version ? When it was prepared by Hierony- 
mus, it was shown by the scholars of that pe- 
riod to be exceedingly incorrect 

After various changes, it was taken in hand 
by Sixtus V., who issued a new edition, which 
he commanded should be received as the only 
authorized version, and read throughout the 
Christian world. But subsequently Pope Clem- 
ent VIII., as infallible as his predecessor, is- 
20* 



234 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

sued a bull stating that the edition of Sixtus 
V., called the reformed edition, contained two 
thousand dangerous errors. Only think of an 
infallible pope sending forth to the Christian 
world an infallible version of the Bible, in which 
another infallible pope discovers two thousand 
dangerous errors! 

But the edition of Clement VIIL is an turn 
subjected to an examination by Father Unga- 
relli, a man of learning, and an ardent Roman 
Catholic, whose fondness for study leads him 
to the research, and he discovers seven hundred 
and fifty capital errors in this version. And 
this is now the authorized edition in the Ro- 
mish church. It is quoted by their writers as 
scriptural authority, while it cannot in justice 
be called a Bible. It is, in a great measure, 
the word of popes and cardinals, rather than 
the word of God. 

So the Douay Bible is adapted to the errors 
and corruptions of the Papal church. But 
even this Bible, erroneous as it is, we do not 
find in general circulation among Roman 
Catholics. Who ever heard of the Romish 
priests exhorting the people to read a Bible of 
any kind ? Who ever undertook to show that' 
the Roman Catholic church was, as a church, 
friendly to the Bible in any form ? On the 
contrary, we have seen that in Catholic coun- 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 235 

tries a man must obtain a license before he can 
read a Bible. Yes, he must go to a fellow- 
mortal, to an inquisitor or a bishop, whose 
characters are certainly no better than they 
ought to be, and obtain permission to read the 
book, or the letter, which his heavenly Father 
has addressed to him ! He must obtain per- 
mission to learn from his God how to repent, 
and how to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and be saved ! Was there ever a more insolent 
and outrageous act of despotism than this ? 
With as much propriety might I go to a fellow- 
mortal, land ask permission to breathe the air 
of heaven, or drink of the pure water that 
gushes from the mountain side, or use for a day 
the light of the sun, as to crave the liberty of 
reading the word of God. If there is a human 
right which is inalienable — which ought never 
to be brought into controversy — it is the right 
of every child of God to read, study, and search 
the Scriptures. 

But the Romish church has not been con- 
tented with simply the license system in this 
matter. It has gone farther, and displayed its 
opposition in more decisive acts. Councils and 
popes, almost without number, have positively 
prohibited the reading of the Scriptures by the 
common people. When the Waldenses pub- 
lished the first translation of the Bible into aver- 



236 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

nacular tongue, Pope Innocent III. issued a bull 
against them, ordering that all their books, most 
of which were Bibles, should be burned. Leo 
XIL, Gregory X VI., Pius VI., VII., VIIL, as well 
as the present pope, prohibit the reading of the 
Scriptures. Pius IX. has manifested a very 
intense hostility to Bible societies; and we be- 
lieve that he fears them in the Roman States 
more than he fears the cholera. Of the two 
calamities he would prefer the latter, as the 
least dangerous to the interests of the holy and 
infallible church ! 

In 1229, the Council of Tolosa waged war 
against the Bible, and forbade the laity possess- 
ing it in a language which they could under- 
stand. The Council of Bologna also con- 
demned the general reading of the Bible, as 
dangerous to the interests of the church. In 
1842, the Bishop of Bruges, in Belgium, sent 
forth a circular letter, forbidding the circulation 
of the Bible in the language of the country, 
and among the poor people. 

A short time since, a number of Bibles that 
were sent to be gratuitously distributed at Cum- 
min sville, Ohio, were gathered into a pile in 
the road, and burned. The remains of some 
of them are now in the Bible House, New York. 
Now, this opposition, which has been raging in 
New York, Baltimore, and Cincinnati against 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



237 



the Protestant version of the Bible in our free 
schools, is the old spirit of Romish hostility to 
the Bible as the word of God. And the Bible 
is assailed so as to strike, through this, the free 
school system. The Papists in the United 
States fear general education as much as they 
fear the Bible. They know that if the rising 
generation become enlightened, the days of 
their superstitions and mummeries are num- 
bered. They know that priestly arrogance and 
intolerance here will end ; that the people will 
prefer the light of divine truth to lighted can- 
dles ; will regard holy principles as of more 
value than holy water; will seek the pardon of 
their sins from God rather than from the priest ; 
and will prefer the glories of Christ to the 
" glories of Mary." 

But supposing that this demand to exclude 
the Bible from the public schools is yielded to ; 
the question comes up, What shall be done 
with those books that contain extracts from the 
Bible, or passages that speak in commenda- 
tion of it ? Our best literature is so pervaded 
with Bible truth and quotations from the Scrip- 
tures, that it would be very difficult to compile 
a reading book, or one to furnish pieces for 
declamation, that would be unexceptionable to 
the Roman Catholic. If the writings of Mil- 
ton, Addison, Young, or those of our own 



238 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

poets, historians, or orators, are resorted to for 
materials for reading books, it would be almost 
impossible not to violate the principle for which 
the Romanist contends. The work of expur- 
gation would have to be carried so far, that 
there would be comparatively little left worthy 
of the pupil's attention. Besides, after the 
Roman Catholic was satisfied, the atheist 
might present himself, and urge his objections 
to having the doctrine of God's existence taught 
in the schools. He might point out a para- 
graph on natural or revealed theology in one 
of the school books that offends his conscience; 
and, on the plea that he regularly pays his tax, 
and thus helps to support the school, he might 
say that it was unjust to have his child taught 
what he regards as a fundamental error. He 
contends that he sends his child to school to 
learn geography, arithmetic, and philosophy ; 
and for the teacher to give to his mind a reli- 
gious bias in favor of the existence of a God, 
is a direct infringement upon his religious lib- 
erty. The committee, therefore, to be consist- 
ent, must expunge from the books every allu- 
sion to the divine existence. There must be no 
prayer offered up in the school room, for this 
would be a most palpable acknowledgment of 
the being of a God. There must be nothing 
sung that has the remotest allusion to the 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 239 

Deity. The mind of the child must be care- 
fully kept under the idea that the throne of 
heaven is vacant; that blind chance reigns 
throughout the universe ; that the sun rises 
and sets purely by accident; that there is no 
such thing as a divine moral government, or a 
future state of being, with its rewards and pun- 
ishments; and all this to meet the conscien- 
tious scruples of the tax-paying atheist! 

But we have still other classes of citizens to 
suit. In California there are several thousands 
of Chinese, many of whom own property and 
pay their taxes. One of them, we will sup- 
pose, sends his children to a public school ; and 
there, in the reading lesson, they are taught 
that Christ was superior to Confucius, and that 
men ought to worship God rather than idols. 
The children come home and do not manifest 
the usual reverence for the idols that are in the 
house. The parents become offended and ex- 
cited, and soon the whole Chinese population 
are making war against these sectarian schools. 
They claim that the school fund ought to be 
divided, that they may have such schools as 
exist in the Celestial Empire, and be no longer 
exposed to the religious sentiments of the 
American barbarians with whom they have 
taken up their abode. Now, what is to be 
done ? Who shall decide the question of the 



240 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

character of these schools — the Chinese idol- 
ater, or the Deist, or the Roman Catholic, or 
the American Protestant. We say that the 
question must be left to the majority. We 
can see no other way of deciding it; and to 
yield to this clamor of the Romanists, who are 
in the minority, is a policy fraught with the 
greatest peril to all our institutions. 

Yet the school commissioners in New York — 
to their shame be it said — have set the example 
of following the dictation of the Romish priests 
in this matter. They have mutilated the school 
books, expunging passages that were offensive 
to the Pope of Rome and his adherents. On 
this point Dr. Cheever, of New York, says, — 

" To this day this disgrace stands perpetu- 
ated in the school books. The Romish edict has 
marked its way, as it generally does, so that there 
is no mistaking it. And it stands a palpable 
demonstration of the consequences to which this 
argument against the Bible, at the demand of 
the conscience of a single sect, must lead. The 
obliteration and mutilation of the school books 
is one legitimate result; and some of the noblest 
bursts of eloquence in the English tongue, and 
most exquisitely wrought compositions, — his- 
toric, poetic, and didactic, — must be cut away 
and cast out as sectarian, against which the 
suspicion of sectarianism was never before 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 241 

breathed. Compositions of superior acknowl- 
edged excellence and immemorial use are to be 
charged as sectarian, in which no quality or 
asp.ect of sectarianism can be detected, because 
the imprimatur of a particular sect is with- 
held from them ! Because they are not secta- 
rian, because the historian was not a Romish 
historian, because the poet was not a Romish 
poet, coloring his descriptions with the colors 
that the church demands, — therefore they are 
to be marked and condemned as sectarian, and 
on that pretence excluded ! And in the gaps 
thus made, in the speech of Lord Chatham, for 
example, a blackened impression is stamped 
upon the page. Whole pages were thus de- 
faced ; at first, because this was a cheap mode 
of accomplishing the Romish expurgation, the 
remainder of the volumes being still readable. 
In other pages, couplets of straggling stars filled 
the omissions ; and in another edition the offen- 
sive stereotype plate, where it formed a whole 
page, was destroyed, and pages totally blank 
were left here and there through the volume. 
Such is the aspect of a portion of the school 
literature at this moment." 

Nor were we without serious apprehension, 

at one time, that the enemies of the Bible in 

New York would succeed in banishing the 

sacred volume from the schools in that state. 

p 21 



242 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Under the shelter of the laws passed in 1842 
and 1843, forbidding sectarian teaching and 
books, a strong effort was made to banish from 
the schools the Bible, as being a sectarian book. 
And even after an amendment made to the 
school law in 1844, " prohibiting the Board of 
Education from excluding the Holy Scriptures 
from any school," many of the ward officers 
still forbade the use of the Bible. The super- 
intendent declared that " many of the teachers 
were thus intimidated from an apprehension 
lest they should lose their places, which indeed 
was intimated in some cases and distinctly 
threatened in others. Valuable teachers, in 
several cases, for reading the Bible in their 
schools, have been actually either dismissed or 
compelled to resign." 

Now, upon what principle of justice or right 
such a course is pursued, we are totally unable 
to determine. Supposing we allow that the 
Roman Catholics are conscientiously opposed to 
the Bible ; are not the Protestants equally con- 
scientious in favor of it ? Have we not rights 
in this matter as well as the Roman Catholics? 
Are the consciences of twenty millions of free 
American Protestants to be trampled in the 
dust, and entirely lost sight of, to gratify the 
consciences of a few millions of Romanists, 
the leaders of whom have declared themselves 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 243 

the uncompromising foes of all our institutions, 
civil, educational, and religious ? Shame upon 
the man who advances so treasonable a doc- 
trine ! "We have indeed reached a sad period 
in our history, if the consciences of all the 
Protestants in our land are to be thus violated, 
and our free schools walled in against all reli- 
gious influences, and against every ray of the 
light of divine truth ! 

But the Romanists have a great deal to say 
about their rights in this matter. Let me ask, 
what right is invaded, by the American people 
believing and acting upon the principle that 
moral and religious instruction should accom- 
pany a system of general education ? Are not 
these foreigners aware of the character of our 
schools and our institutions before they come 
to this country ? They are at liberty, if they 
choose, to establish Romish schools, and they 
have done so in various parts of the land. The 
atheist, too, can have his school, and the Chi- 
nese in California can do the same. But to 
ask that the Bible be banished from our schools, 
and our books expurgated of every passage 
that is offensive to Romish ears, is what no 
true American patriot or Christian will ever 
grant. 

Upon this subject, an antagonist of Bishop 
Hughes, in a controversy which was held sev- 



244 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

eral years since, used the following just and 
strong language : — 

" The efforts of your priests and yourselves, 
gentlemen, to get possession of the money ap- 
propriated by the State of New York for the 
support of the common schools has a singular 
appearance. Bishop Hughes says, 'We come 
here denied of our rights? Pray, what are, the 
rights here, of a priest who holds his commis- 
sion and his place by the will of a foreign 
hierarch, and upon condition of continued obe- 
dience? Such a man cannot, in the nature of 
the case, become an American. He may swear 
allegiance, and kiss the Bible and the cross ever 
so many times ; he is a foreigner still. He may 
have the privilege of staying here and being 
protected by our laws, but as to rights for inter- 
meddling with American affairs, he has none. 
The amount which Catholics pay towards the 
school money is exceedingly small; and all 
your contributions to the state in every way are 
greatly overbalanced by the donations made 
back to you by our various public institutions. 
You are almost all foreigners by birth here in 
your first generation ; you profess a religion 
subordinated to a foreign head — a religion 
against which our ancestors entered their sol- 
emn protest — a protest which their sons mean 
to sustain while they live, and hand down from 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 245 

generation to generation, while the country en- 
dures. Your priests come here on a 'mission? 
as they profess; and here, with some men of 
intelligence and worth, and an army who can 
neither read nor write, you clamor for your 
rights. With the enjoyment of all the privi- 
leges 'of American institutions, of liberty, reli- 
gion, and science, bestowed on your landing, 
you are still discontented. Pray, by what rule 
should your rights be determined ? Shall it be 
by the measure which would be meted out, 
under a reverse of circumstances, to a like com- 
pany of American Protestants in a Catholic 
country? You claim the right especially to 
interfere with the management of our public 
schools. Pray, had you any such right in the 
country of your birth, where your religion ad- 
justed rights and dealt them out? Before 
Americans intrust you with the management 
of their public schools, they would like to see 
the result of your labors in the same way in 
Catholic countries. Can you point us to some 
spot in Italy, Spain, or Austria, or any other 
country under the influence of the Catholic 
church, where the earliest care of Popery is to 
establish common schools, in which all the chil- 
dren shall be taught to read, and write, and 
cipher ? We should like to visit that Catholic 
country where, in every neighborhood, the dis- 
21* 



246 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

trict school house is the centre of interest, and 
to see the Catholic children, as, in neat attire, 
they assemble blithely in the morning. Is there 
any such spot in all the dominions of the pope ? 
No ; common schools are the offspring of Prot- 
estantism. We can have them because we are 
not under the dominion of the pope. His let- 
ter proves conclusively that Romanism is the 
enemy of common schools, and of popular edu- 
cation in every form. Americans will not, if 
they are wise, put an institution which they 
love so much into the hands of its enemies. 
The glory of our system is universal educa- 
tion ; that of yours is universal ignorance. The 
meridian of Catholic ascendency was the mid- 
night of the world's history. While our chil- 
dren .are taught the elements of all sorts of 
useful knowledge, and each, with a Bible in his 
hand, is instructed to read, and think, and act 
independently, our institutions will be safe ; 
but such a system will lay Popery in the dust, 
wherever it prevails. 

" The common people in all Catholic coun- 
tries are ignorant of the rudiments of educa- 
tion. Those who come here can, in general, 
only sign their names with a mark. The per- 
sons who can neither read nor write, whose 
numbers disfigure our census returns, are most 
of them Catholics. Under all these circum- 



THE BIBLE IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 247 

stances, gentlemen, your claim that a part of 
our public school money should be put into the 
hands of Catholic priests to manage, strikes us 
as exhibiting a wonderful degree of assurance." 
Upon no principle of justice or right can the 
plea of the Romanist be maintained; and for 
the American people to yield to this clamor, 
would be the most suicidal course that could 
be adopted. As Christians, we are bound to 
resist it. As philanthropists and patriots, we 
are bound to preserve the connection between 
religious and mental culture. 



THE BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 

"Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read."— Is. 
xxxiv. 16. 

"Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep 
IT." — Luke xi. 28. 

"We have already considered the principles 
upon which the free school system was estab- 
lished, and showed that the objections brought 
by the Romanist against the Bible as a sec- 
tarian book were entirely groundless, and grew 
out of a deep-seated hostility to the word of 
God. We showed the absurdities into which 
school commissioners and committees would 
be led, by once yielding to the arrogant claims 
of the Romish priesthood. 

In pursuing our argument, we would remark, 
in the next place, that, as believers in the Bible, 
we are under the most solemn obligations to 
communicate its truths to the rising genera- 
tion. 

We believe that " all Scripture is given by 
insoiration of God, and is profitable for doc- 

(248) 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 249 

trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction 
in righteousness." It is as much my duty to 
extend as widely as possible a knowledge of 
the Scriptures, as it is to give bread to a starv- 
ing man, or throw a plank to one who is drown- 
ing. Being convinced by the authority of mir- 
acles, prophecy, and the internal evidences of 
the truth of the Scriptures, — being fully per- 
suaded by the social, civil, and spiritual ad- 
vantages that flow from the study of the Bible, 
that this volume is the word of God, — I am 
bound as a moral being, accountable to God 
for my influence, to do all in my power to make 
known its truths to every human being. I am 
bound to send it to the most distant continents 
and islands of the earth, that it may educate 
the ignorant, enlighten the superstitious, and 
fit man for duty in this life, and for happiness 
in the life to come. Much more am I bound 
to give it to the children in my own country, 
where every valuable institution depends for 
existence upon its circulation and influence. 

Between the Holy Scriptures as the supreme 
authority, and my conscience, I can allow 
nothing to ent'er. To me the Bible is the higher 
law, in church and state — in all the relations 
of life. From this position I will not be driven 
by all the hosts of Papists, with Pope Pius IX. 
at their head. 



250 



ROMANISM IX AMERICA. 



But the Romanist tells me, that he is as con- 
scientiously opposed to the Bible as I am in 
favor of it. His conscience prompts him to ex- 
clude from the child's mind the light of God's 
word, and introduce in its stead the mummeries 
and superstitions of Popery. I am, however, 
convinced that his conscience is not enlight- 
ened — that he has not been permitted to ex- 
ercise his reason and judgment in matters of 
religion — that he regards the traditions of men 
as of higher authority than the word of God. 
I cannot, therefore, admit such a conscience on 
an equality with one that has been enlightened 
by divine truth. If I do, then we must extend 
the principle still farther, and recognize the au- 
thority of the pagan's conscience, and even 
that of the most degraded, superstitious, and 
cruel heathen. 

Suppose that, in the flood of immigration 
that is pouring in upon our shores, there should 
come a company of Hindoos, bringing with 
them their habits, customs, and modes of wor- 
ship. Suppose that at stated periods an infant 
is cast into Boston Harbor, as a religious offer- 
ing to appease the wrath of an offended deity. 
If expostulated with, the Hindoos reply, that 
they are perfectly conscientious in this act. 
„Their fathers, for ages, were in the habit of 
performing this religious rite, and from their 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 251 

earliest infancy they were taught that it is a 
duty binding upon all Hindoo parents. But 
the Massachusetts legislature takes the matter 
in hand, and it is proposed that a law be passed 
forbidding the casting of infant children into 
Boston Harbor, under any circumstances what- 
ever. In the midst of the debate, there rises up 
in the House of Representatives a young and 
aspiring politician, who is anxious to secure 
Hindoo votes, and argues, First, that this is a 
land of perfect religious liberty, and hence all re- 
ligions should be tolerated and protected. Sec- 
ondly, these Hindoos are perfectly conscien- 
tious, and consider this rite as essential to their 
peace here and happiness hereafter. Thirdly, 
they have been naturalized, and pay their taxes, 
which, it is true, do not amount to a large sum; 
yet they ought not to be persecuted. Fourthly, 
their religion, in this age of toleration, ought to 
be respected on account of its antiquity, and 
the vast number of human minds over which 
it has held sway. Indeed, the young orator 
might become almost eloquent in his praises 
of the Ganges, of the sacred books of the Hin- 
doos, called the Vedas, which are written in the 
Sanscrit, or holy language, and of the noble 
self-denial of the people in swinging on hooks, 
and keeping their limbs in a certain position 
until they are rigid. Such a speech might be 



252 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

very edifying to the Hindoo immigrants ; but 
whether it would convince the American peo- 
ple that the consciences of these idolaters 
should rank with those that are enlightened by 
divine truths, I leave you to judge. 

Yet why not respect a conscience that be- 
lieves in the holy water of the Ganges, as much 
as one that believes in holy wells, and in the 
holy water placed in church fonts? Why not 
respect consciences that approve of having 
men crushed under the car of Juggernaut, as 
much as those that approve of having men 
crushed in the infernal machinery of a Spanish 
Inquisition ? 

The truth is, that the American people should 
never retreat one iota from the principle that it 
is their right and duty to circulate and teach 
the word of God. This right is not derived 
from any body or class of men — from any au- 
thority in church or state — but it comes di- 
rectly from the throne of the Eternal. As well 
might we exclude from our school rooms the 
light of the sun, and light them with Romish 
candles, or exclude the air of heaven, and com- 
pel the children to breathe a noxious gas, as 
deprive them of the celestial light and inesti- 
mable blessings of the Holy Scriptures. 

As an aid to the mental culture of the pupils, 
and to the discipline of the schools, the Bible 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 253 

holds a most important rank. Its influence 
cannot but be salutary and reformatory upon 
the young minds that are collected together to 
receive instruction in the various branches of 
knowledge. Just imagine millions of children 
in the various parts of our land at the same 
moment under the persuasive, elevating, and 
enriching influence of divine truth. See the 
history, poetry, precepts, and eloquence of the 
sacred volume, mingling in with the principles 
of science, and throwing their hallowed influ- 
ence around the secular knowledge that is 
daily imparted. Follow these great principles 
as they mould and control the faculties in their 
progress towards maturity, and as they help 
to form the character and shape the destiny. 
Then think of these scriptural truths as travel- 
ling down through successive generations, and 
widening in their influence, until they reach 
hundreds of millions of American youth, pre- 
paring them to act well their part upon the 
great theatre of human life. On the other 
hand, imagine these schools with the Bible and 
all religious influences banished from them at 
the dictation of Romish priests. No word of 
inspiration is uttered in the hearing of these 
multitudes, who are so soon to enter upon the 
duties of life, and take charge of the vast in- 
terests of this free and Christian republic. No 
22 



254 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

prayer is offered up — no religious instruction is 
imparted — lest the awful crime should be com- 
mitted of teaching sectarianism ! The chills 
of a cold infidelity hang over the school. Th.e 
teachers may be complete atheists, and yet be 
qualified for all the duties that devolve upon 
them. They may be believers in the Koran, or 
in the sacred books of the Chinese, or the Hin- 
doos, and yet be eligible to the important and 
responsible office of teaching the young. When 
such a day arrives, we may bid farewell to all 
that we hold dear as a nation. 

Consider, also, the importance of the Bible 
in our female schools. " It is ever to be re- 
membered," says one, " how large a proportion 
of the children attending our common schools 
are girls, and the teachers females, and how 
peculiarly appropriate and essential for them, 
both for instruction and government, the les- 
sons of the Sacred Scriptures. What agency 
is so powerful for training the sensibilities, re- 
fining the manners, purifying the heart, for di- 
recting and establishing the feelings, the senti- 
ments, the habits of thought, in that gentle and 
yet elevated and impressive character, which 
we wish to see possessed by every woman, and 
especially every mother of our republic? * * * 
The idea of educating the female mind of our 
country, in the proposed exclusion of the Bible, 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 255 

and of all religious instruction, is really an in- 
sult to the common convictions of humanity in 
a Christian state. 

"Just think of the absurdity, the tyranny, 
of placing the children under such a regimen, 
because of the fear of the charge of sectarian- 
ism, that the teacher shall not dare to comment 
even on the simplest, sweetest, most compre- 
hensive sayings, invitations, parables, or actions 
of the Savior of the world. * * * Think 
of classes and teachers under this fear, lest 
some inquisitorial commissioner should enter, 
and mark this process of celestial light as en- 
dangering the entrance of sectarianism, and 
therefore not to be permitted, out of respect to 
the conscientious rights of those who require 
the exclusion of the Bible and of all religious 
instruction." 

The truth is, that, by yielding to this claim 
of the Romish priesthood, we create a despot- 
ism that acts with fearful power upon the mil- 
lions of Protestants in America, who consci- 
entiously believe that the word of God should 
be taught to their children. Here is a citizen 
who pays his tax for the support of the schools 
which were by our fathers founded upon the 
basis of Bible truth. As a Christian, he knows 
that the religious element ought to enter into a 
system of education that is to fit his child for 



256 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

the duties of this life, and for the solemn reali- 
ties of the future world. He cannot consistently 
send his child to a school where the word of 
God is proscribed, and where all the books are 
expunged of every allusion to the sublime 
words of inspiration — the beautiful Pslams of 
David, the thrilling utterances of the prophets, 
the glorious truths upon which Jesus and his 
apostles delighted to dwell. 

The very fact that the Bible is excluded from 
the school room w T ill exert an injurious influ- 
ence upon the mind of the child. He will natu- 
rally, sooner or later, ask, Why do I not meet 
the word of God in some of the paths of sci- 
ence and human learning ? Why do I not hear 
a prayer offered for the blessing of God upon 
the studies of the day ? Are the principles of 
science incompatible with the truths of re- 
ligion ? Is the school house beyond the domin- 
ions of the Almighty Father ? And, as he sees 
at stated periods a committee passing around 
the school room, and carefully examining the 
books in the. desks of the pupils, and is in- 
formed that these grave and solemn-looking 
men are searching to satisfy themselves that 
there are no scriptural passages, or words of 
commendation of the Bible, in these books, 
what must be the child's impression of the 
character of the Bible? Can he avoid the 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 257 

conclusion that it must be a very dangerous 
book ? Can he avoid contracting a prejudice 
against it ? 

No Christian father would send his child to 
such a school. 

The necessity of providing religious instruc- 
tion is also specially apparent in those schools 
that are established by the state for the children 
of paupers and criminals, for the blind, and for 
the deaf and dumb. 

In the schools at South Boston and Deer 
Island, connected with the almshouses and 
other public institutions, there are many chil- 
dren, who, but for those schools, would never 
have known any thing of the Bible, or of Jesus 
Christ, or of the way of salvation. Their par- 
ents, being vicious, or addicted to crime, have 
left them exposed to every degrading and cor- 
rupting influence. In visiting those schools, it 
appeared to me that their great charm and 
beauty was the religious influence that was 
thrown over the pupils. It was a thrilling 
spectacle, to see these poor outcasts thus 
provided by the state with the bread of life, 
and trained up for usefulness and happiness. 

As an aid to discipline in these schools, the 

teachers find the Bible absolutely indispensable. 

Many of the children committed to their care, 

owing to past neglect and to the wicked habits 

a 22* 



258 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

already contracted, would be beyond their con- 
trol, were they not allowed to make use of the 
moral and religious teachings of the Holy Scrip- 
tures. 

In the school for juvenile offenders which I 
once visited at South Boston, I found about 
sixty boys between ten and sixteen years of 
age, every one of whom had been arrested for 
some crime. They were all bright and intelli- 
gent looking lads, and appeared exceedingly 
well in their deportment and recitations. After 
the examination in their studies, the teacher 
asked me if I should like to hear them sing. 
Replying in the affirmative, the scholars at 
once rose, and with clear, vigorous voices, and 
in perfect harmony, chanted those beautiful 
words, " I will arise and go to my father, and 
say, Father, I have sinned against heaven and 
in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be 
called thy son." On being invited, immedi- 
ately afterwards, to address them, I remarked 
upon the appropriateness of those precious 
words to their situation, and of the willingness 
of that Father, from whom they had wandered, 
to receive them back to his house, to embrace 
them as children, to call for the best robes to 
be put upon them, to rejoice over their repent- 
ance and return, and to exclaim with intense 
emotion, in relation to each of them, " This 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 259 

my son was dead, and is alive again ; he was 
lost, and is found." 

While speaking, I observed that every eye 
was fixed upon me, and every heart seemed to 
throb its response to the sentiments I was 
uttering. 

Now, suppose that, just as I was closing, a 
Popish inquisitor, chairman of the school com- 
mittee, had entered, and, by authority of a law 
recently passed, should have positively forbid- 
den the singing of any more such chants — 
should have taken the Bible that was lying on 
the teacher's desk, and hurled it out of the win- 
dow — should have examined the books, and 
torn out the leaves that contained scriptural 
passages, or extracts from distinguished au- 
thors, and thus should have taken from these 
boys the only means that they enjoyed of ob- 
taining a knowledge of the precious principles 
of God's word, and of the terms of salvation. 
I say that the devil himself could not do a 
worse thing. For what hope of usefulness 
and happiness, for time or eternity, have 
these youth, except that which may be derived 
from the religious instruction gained at this in- 
stitution ? 

Yet this inquisitor would see them grow up 
in vice and crime, and prepare, in the cellars 
of Ann Street or Fort Hill, to become, when 



260 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

they reach manhood, thieves, incendiaries, and 
assassins,* rather than see them gathered in 
this school, reading the Holy Scriptures, and 



* " The Rev. M. H. Seymour has recently brought before the 
public some statistical facts connected with the crime of murder, 
in several of the European kingdoms, well deserving the atten- 
tion of thoughtful men. From these facts, it would appear that 
the farther a nation departs from the religion of the Bible, the 
more numerous will be the transgressions of the divine command, 
* Thou shalt do no murder.' 

" Our own land, with all her sins, is far less stained with the 
guilt of murder than countries where the Bible is not the book 
which guides the people. In such countries the number of mur- 
ders is fearfully larger than with us. And it is very remarkable, 
and ought to be pondered by our statesmen, that most murders 
abound in those nations where unmixed Popery prevails, and 
where priests, monks, and nuns abound in largest numbers, and 
no Bibles circulated among the people ! 

" The following is the result of Mr. Seymour's inquiries, and 
his information is derived from the most authentic sources. Di- 
viding the population by the number of murders annually, there 
will be in 

England, 

Ireland, 

Belgium, 

France, 

Austria, 

Bavaria, 

Sardinia, 

Lombardy, 

Tuscany, 

Sicily, 

Papal States, 100 " " 

Naples, 200 " " 

" These are startling facts. And yet, with such facts as these 
and others before them, many an Englishman is still blind to the 
real character and tendency of Romanism." 



4 murders to 


a million inhabitants, 


19 « 


tt 


18 


tt 


31 


tt 


36 " 


a 


30 


tt 


20 


tt 


45 " 


tt 


42 


tt 


90 " 


tt 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 261 

chanting the words, " I will arise and go to my 
father." 

Indeed, the superintendents informed me, that 
the Roman Catholic priests complained bitterly 
that the paupers and criminals of their faith, 
old and young, in those institutions, had access 
to the Bible. Although the instructions that 
they there receive afford the only hope that 
they will ever be lifted from their state of deg- 
radation and pauperism, and saved from a ca- 
reer of the blackest crime, yet these cruel 
priests would take from them even this faint 
hope. 

Suppose, also, that the Bible is excluded 
from the school for the blind, which is supported 
by the state. Here are gathered, say one hun- 
dred blind children, who, day after day, read 
their lessons by tracing the raised letters with 
their fingers. They become acquainted w T ith 
geography, philosophy, and portions of history, 
but, from the beginning to the end of the year, 
their fingers never light upon the word Bible. 
They never trace out the w T ords, " Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved " — never read that sublime and stirring 
declaration, u Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither hath it entered into the heart of man to 
conceive, the joys which are laid up for those 
that love God." 



262 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

Would it not be the greatest cruelty to add 
to the darkness that surrounds this unfortunate 
class the deeper moral darkness produced by 
the exclusion of the word of God? 

Take, also, the institution for the deaf and 
dumb. Who, with one spark of humanity in 
his soul, with the smallest possible amount 
of interest in the spiritual welfare of others, 
would even advance the idea, that this class of 
persons should be deprived of religious instruc- 
tion ? To those who visit these institutions, 
one of the most interesting features in the ex- 
amination is the progress that the pupils make 
in a knowledge of the Scriptures, and their 
promptness in replying to questions of a re- 
ligious nature. 

" Who made the world ? " was the question 
once proposed to a little boy in the institution 
Without an instant's delay, the chalk had rap- 
idly traced the answer, — 

11 In the beginning, God created the heavens 
and the earth." 

" Why did Jesus come into the world ? " was 
the next question proposed. With a smile of 
gratitude, the little fellow wrote in reply, — 

" This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 
acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the 
world to save sinners." 

The astonished visitor, desirous of testing 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 263 

the religious nature of the pupil to the utmost, 
ventured at length to ask, " Why were you 
born deaf and dumb, when I can both hear 
and speak ? " With the sweetest and most 
touching expression of meek resignation on the 
face of the boy, the rapid chalk replied, " Even 
so, Father, for it seemeth good in thy sight." 

Now, shall the Bible be removed from such 
a school on the ground that it is a sectarian 
book ? Shall it be banished from such an in- 
stitution to meet the conscientious scruples of 
a class of men who owe allegiance to the Pope 
of Rome, and are engaged in burning Bibles 
in various parts of Christendom ? 

But, besides the right of the children to the 
word of God, I would contend, in the next 
place, that the very existence of our free gov- 
ernment and our national prosperity depend 
upon the influence and authority of the Bible 
in the community. What is it, I would ask,, 
that distinguishes the American people from so 
many of the nations of the earth ? Whence 
our unexampled growth, our commercial enter- 
prise, our progress in the arts, in science, and 
in the general diffusion of knowledge? Why 
are the people of all climes and languages at- 
tracted to our shores? Why do hundreds of 
thousands of Roman Catholics seek here com- 
forts and advantages such as cannot be obtained 



'264 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

in their own countries, where their system of 
religion has been for ages in the ascendency ? 
The answer is obvious. The light of God's 
holy word shines upon the nation. The Bible 
lies at the basis of our civil, educational, and 
religious institutions. Remove it, and you take 
away the corner stone of the republic, and 
leave the vast fabric to crumble, burying mil- 
lions of now free, happy, and prosperous cit- 
izens beneath the ruins. 

The words of the immortal Washington, in 
his Farewell Address, ought to be remembered 
by every true American : " Of all the disposi- 
tions and habits which lead to political pros- 
perity, religion and morality are indispensable 
supports. In vain would that man claim the 
tribute of patriotism who should labor to sub- 
vert these great pillars of human happiness, 
the purest props of the duties of men and cit- 
izens. The mere politician, equally with the 
pious man, ought to respect and cherish them. 
A volume could not trace all their connections 
-with private and public felicity. Let it simply 
be asked, Where is the security for property, 
for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious 
obligation desert the oaths which are the 
instruments of investigation in courts of 
justice ? And let us with caution indulge the 
supposition that morality can be maintained 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 265 

without religion. Whatever may be conceded 
to the influence of refined education on minds 
of peculiar structure, reason and experience 
both forbid us to expect that national morality 
can prevail, in exclusion of religious principle." 
Now, it is not necessary that infidel and athe- 
istical sentiments be actually taught to the pupils 
in order to destroy the national morality. Ac- 
cording to the views of the father of our country, 
the mere absence of religious principle will pro- 
duce this result. You have only to remove the 
Bible from our schools, and sever the connection 
between religious culture and secular education, 
and the work is done. Every blow that is aimed 
against the Bible is aimed against our national 
morality, against the vital forces of our nation- 
al existence and prosperity. A foreign enemy 
bombarding our cities, and landing their forces 
upon our shores, could not injure us so much as 
those who are making war upon the Bible, and 
laboring to prevent the religious culture of the 
rising generation. For we could lose a few 
cities, and even many thousand citizens, and yet 
maintain our national existence. We could be 
crippled, and yet maintain life and vigor in the 
heart of the republic. The fallen cities would 
soon rise again. The tide of business and 
prosperity, disturbed for the moment, would 
soon resume its wonted channel. But the Ro- 
23 



266 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

manist, in striking at the Bible, strikes at the 
very seat of our national life. The wounds he 
inflicts are mortal wounds. If the nation falls 
under the blows, it falls not soon to rise again. 
Its limbs are palsied ; its heart ceases to beat. 

The allusion in the extract from Washing- 
ton's Address to the importance of preserving 
the sanctity of oaths in our courts of justice, 
is deserving of special attention. The attain- 
ment of the ends of justice obviously depends 
upon the truth of witnesses, and those who 
testify in our courts. If the sanctity of oaths 
is violated, and men are ready to commit per- 
jury, it is obvious that the rights of men and 
the interests of society cannot be protected. 
And as the state provides for the taking of 
oaths, it ought also to make provision for the 
study of the Holy Scriptures, that its truths 
may be understood, and that the nature and 
solemnity of an oath may be appreciated. 

Persons who are ignorant of the Bible, and 
entertain little or no reverence for the sacred 
volume, naturally regard an oath with very dif- 
ferent views and feelings from those who be- 
lieve in its principles, obey its precepts, and 
regard with holy awe its divine Author. While 
the latter would shrink with horror from the 
guilt of perjury, the former would be willing to 
swear falsely under the influence of a very 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 267 

slight temptation. To escape a small fine, or 
to protect a friend, or to gratify their prejudices, 
they would perjure themselves before God and 
man. And the officers of our city government 
have informed me that no reliance can be placed 
upon the oaths, hi our courts of justice, of those 
who are not allowed to possess and read the 
word of God. In instances where they have 
been arrested in the very act of unlawfully 
purchasing and drinking intoxicating liquors, 
they have stood before the judge with their 
hands upon the Bible, and sworn in direct op- 
position to the facts in the case. And what 
reverence can they be expected to entertain for 
the Bible, when they see their priests, their 
spiritual guides, laboring to destroy it, and 
making it a crime to possess the sacred vol- 
ume ? If they are taught to believe that their 
piety and hopes of heaven increase with the 
increase of their contempt of the Scriptures, 
that it is a greater virtue to burn the Bible than 
to obey its commands, and that what Almighty 
God enjoins as a duty is a crime punishable, 
where the priests have the power, with imprison- 
ment and even death, how can you expect that 
they will have the least regard for the sanctity 
of an oath ? 

It is clear, therefore, that if the authority of 
the Bible is destroyed, the ends of justice can- 



26S ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

not be secured. And in the Roman States, and 
other countries where the Bible is proscribed, 
the proceedings of the courts are a mere mock- 
ery. The attainment of justice is the very last 
thing to be looked for. 

We are however told that, even if the Bible 
is banished from the public schools, the chil- 
dren can be religiously instructed in the family, 
the Sabbath school, and the church. But every 
one knows that there are multitudes of children, 
even in our most highly-favored towns and 
cities, who never receive any religious instruc- 
tion at home, and who are not brought under 
the influence of our churches and Sabbath 
schools. At the lowest estimate, more than 
one half of our people are growing up with- 
out any religious restraints from the family, 
or the services of the sanctuary. The only 
knowledge that multitudes obtain of the exist- 
ence of a Bible is obtained in the public school. 
While connected, some years ago, with a Sab- 
bath school in New York city, I found, in visit- 
ing the neighborhood for scholars, some boys 
twelve and fourteen years of age, of Catholic 
parents, who were as ignorant of the Bible, of 
the Savior, and of the doctrines of repentance 
and faith, as the heathen. Some had never 
heard of the Bible. They were growing up in 
ignorance, filth, and vice in its most degrading 
forms. 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 269 

Now, how can this large class of ignorant 
children be reached with moral and religious 
instruction except through the public schools? 
In what other way can they obtain knowledge 
enough of Christianity to become the citizens 
of a free republic? We contend that, as a 
matter of protection and self-preservation, the 
government is bound to provide for the religious 
culture of the people. 

Not only the teachers of religion, but our 
most eminent jurists, statesmen, and patriots, 
all concur in the opinion, that such a nation as 
ours cannot exist without a moral and religious 
basis. Judge Story, in his work on the consti- 
tution, says, " The right of a society or govern- 
ment to interfere in matters of religion will hardly 
be contested by any persons who believe that 
piety, religion, and morality are intimately con- 
nected with the well-being of the state, and indis- 
pensable to the administration of civil justice. 
The promulgation of the great doctrines of re- 
ligion, the being, and attributes, and providence 
of one Almighty God ; the responsibility to him 
founded upon moral accountability ; a future 
state of rewards and punishments ; the cultiva- 
tion of all the personal, social, and benevolent 
virtues, — these can never be a matter of indif- 
ference in any well-ordered community. It is, 
indeed, difficult to conceive how any civilized 
23* 



270 ROMANISM IN AMERICA. 

society can well exist without them. And, at 
all events, it is impossible for those who believe 
in the truth of Christianity as a divine revela- 
tion, to doubt that it is the special duty of gov- 
ernment to foster and encourage it among all 
the citizens and subjects. This is a point 
wholly distinct from that of the right of private 
judgment in matters of religion, and of the free- 
dom of public worship, according to the dic- 
tates of one's conscience." 

The Hon. Horace Mann says, " As educators, 
as friends and sustainers of the common school 
system, our great duty is to prepare these living 
and intelligent souls ; to awaken the faculty of 
thought in all the children of the common- 
wealth ; to impart to them the greatest prac- 
ticable amount of useful knowledge ; to culti- 
vate in them a sacred regard to truth ; * * * 
to train them up to the love of God and the 
love of man ; to make the perfect example of 
Jesus Christ lovely in their eyes, and to give 
to all so much religious instruction as is com- 
patible with the rights of others : and when the 
children arrive at years of maturity, to com- 
mend them to that inviolable prerogative of 
private judgment and of self-direction, which, in 
a Protestant and republican country, is the ac- 
knowledged birthright of every human being." 

Mr. Choate, in one of his orations, exclaimed, 



BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. 271 

" Banish the Bible from our public schools ? 
Never ! so long as a piece of Plymouth Rock 
remains big enough to make a gun flint out 
of." 

We might quote the testimony of many 
others in favor of these same sentiments. In- 
deed, it is the universal opinion of all who are 
distinguished for their learning, wisdom, and 
patriotism, that the perpetuity of our institu- 
tions depends upon the moral and religious 
culture of the people. 

And, should the day ever arrive when the 
Bible is banished from our schools, no adequate 
expression could be made of the sadness of the 
hour. The tolling of all the bells in the nation, 
the clothing of all the school houses in black 
drapery, the streets filled with processions of 
mourners, would not express the calamity. The 
moral sun would be struck from our heavens, 
and the nation left in darkness. The stars of 
hope would one after another fade away. 
Without chart or compass, the great republic 
would launch forth upon an ocean of storms, 
where, amid the raging billows, shipwreck 
w^uld be inevitable. 



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